20 Years Later
The key quote:<p>&quot;The tribalistic sociology that has led to a large group of people calling themselves “string theorists” when what they do has nothing to do with string theory is also something I would have thought impossible.&quot;<p>It&#x27;s my personal bias but I see every group this way.<p>As someone intrigued by &#x27;cults&#x27; early in life, I&#x27;ve come to see that all groups exhibit quite a lot of in&#x2F;out group behaviour, the weird things is when it happens among those most socially unaware people (often science) - combined with a highly objective discipline (again science) ... people are just unwilling to accept that social artifacts can dominate their sphere.<p>Now, the existential issue of the fact that their &#x27;entire worldview&#x27; and &#x27;life-long work&#x27; is tied up in something, delusions can become very strongly internalized.<p>String theory is at least as interesting for the &#x27;sociology&#x27; part as it is the &#x27;string&#x27; part.<p>String theory, and the &#x27;reproducability problem&#x27; has kind of shaken my faith in science. I grew up really &#x27;believing&#x27; in Science, I view it much more differently these days - including those who have this unassailable faith in it as likely being a little deluded themselves.