The present phase of stagnation in the foundations of physics is not normal
While I don&#x27;t like this ~guy&#x27;s~ woman&#x27;s disdainful, superior tone, I do think his complaint has merit. Physics is notoriously bad at having curiosity about strange, unconventional, or truly novel ideas. I just finished reading <i>What is Real?</i> by Adam Becker-- a history of modern physics-- and am astonished at how aggressively physicists resisted and suppressed &quot;unconventional&quot; interpretations of quantum mechanics (like the many worlds interpretation) in favor of the obviously-wrong Copenhagen interpretation. There was a taboo for decades around even <i>discussing</i> quantum foundations, and people&#x27;s careers were ruined simply for trying to publish papers about it.<p>Physics got stuck for a short while on the understanding of QM, and then promptly went into sour grapes mode and decided that it was meaningless to ask any deep questions about what QM actually meant. Since then it has been focused on mathematical formalisms and smashing particles instead of deep questions about what it all means.<p>The stagnation is real, and it&#x27;s the physics community&#x27;s own fault.