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This book owes its title to the ultimate level of disapproval that Wolfgang Pauli applied to some scientific theories. According to this German physicist, wrongheaded theories can be categorized as "Wrong!", "Completely wrong!", and, worst of all, "Not even wrong!" According to quantum theory specialist Peter Woit, string theory fully deserves such decisive dismissal. According to this Harvard- and Princeton-trained mathematician and physicist, string theory has had two decades to generate testable predictions and generate new explanations but has failed to do so. Woit maintains that the domination of string theory in academic circles has stifled alternative research in theoretical physics. A contrarian critique of a hip theory.

Publishers Weekly

String theory is the only game in town in physics departments these days. But echoing Lee Smolin's forthcoming The Trouble with Physics (Reviews, July 24), Woit, a Ph.D. in theoretical physics and a lecturer in mathematics at Columbia, points out again and again that string theory, despite its two decades of dominance, is just a hunch aspiring to be a theory. It hasn't predicted anything, as theories are required to do, and its practitioners have become so desperate, says Woit, that they're willing to redefine what doing science means in order to justify their labors. The first half of Woit's book is a tightly argued, beautifully written account of the development of the standard model and includes a history of particle accelerators that will interest science buffs. When he gets into the history of string theory, however, his pace accelerates alarmingly, with highly sketchy chapters. Reading this in conjunction with Smolin's more comprehensive critique of string theory, readers will be able to make up their own minds about whether string theory lives up to the hype. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

String theory is currently the dominant approach used by theoretical physicists in search of a program for the unification of forces. Woit, who offers a strong critique of this theory and questions whether it should even be considered part of science, knows of what he speaks. A university lecturer in mathematics at Columbia University, he also earned a Ph.D. in physics and writes an anti-string theory blog, "Not Even Wrong." Woit devotes the first half of his book to a history of the standard model for physics particles, which was completed in the 1980s and successfully explained much experimental data. He then addresses the dubious development of string theory, presenting it as an exceedingly complicated tangle of theory that is completely out of touch with the experimental data at hand. Most lay readers will struggle at times with the difficult portions of the discussions, but those who persevere will be rewarded with an intriguing view of a significant scientific controversy. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.-Jack W. Weigel, Ann Arbor, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

• Table of Contents

Table of Contents