Joao Magueijo’s Faster Than the Speed of Light is a hoot: something that can’t be said about very many science books. Magueijo is lucid but light (make that ‘lite’) on the details of theoretical physics and cosmology, but he’s great at conveying the flavor of how science works in practice.
Actually, the book’s title is a misnomer: Magueijo isn’t claiming that anything can go faster than the speed of light, but rather that the speed of light is itself variable under certain circumstances (like at the initial moments of the Big Bang, or in a black hole). (Hence his approach is called VSL –variable speed of light — theory). VSL was originally concocted in order to offer an alternative to Alan Guth’s inflation theory as an account of how certain features of the universe (its relative homogeneity, and its relative “flatness,” or balance between the opposing forces of expansion and gravity) came about.
VSL theory may or may not be correct; but Magueijo claims it has several advantages in comparison to inflation. On the one side, it hooks up much more interestingly to work on theories of quantum gravity (string theory and/or loop quantum gravity); on the other hand, it seems to make more in the way of potentially testable predictions than inflation, or quantum gravity theories, are able to do.
(Just a few days ago, a new study was released that seems to put VSL theory into doubt, or that at least invalidates an earlier study that seemed to provide support for VSL).
But what’s great about Magueijo’s book is that he frankly recognizes the possibility that his theory will be falsified. His argument is that scientific discovery has to take these sorts of risks; it’s the only way that new ideas, some of which turn out to be important and true, get generated in the first place.
In line with this, the meat of Magueijo’s book is not in his explanation of the details of physical theory. Rather, it’s in the picture he paints of how scientific collaboration works: how small groups, or even communities, of scientists, are needed in order to develop new ideas. Scientific creativity is rarely solitary; as Magueijo points out, even Einstein couldn’t have gotten anywhere without his friends and peers.
The flip side of this, of course, is the sort of rivalry and infighting that takes place in scientific circles; together will all the idiocies of academic bureaucracy and ossification. Magueijo’s stories of “peer review” of journal submissions being used to settle personal scores and to enforce conformity, of theoretical schools taking on a cultlike status, and of ineptitude and imbecility in academia at the administrative level all were quite similar to things I have experienced or known about in my own field. It was exhilarating to find Magueijo calling out such things, often in hilarious and profane detail, instead of relegating them to the shadows.
Magueijo on string theory and loop quantum gravity: “Since they don’t connect with experiment or observations at all, they have become fashion accessories at best, at worst a sort of feudal warfare… As with every cult, people who do not conform to the party line are ostracized and persecuted” (p.236).
And again; “Stringy people have achieved nothing with a theory that doesn’t exist. They are excruciatingly pretentious in their claims for beauty; indeed, we are all assured that we live in an elegant universe, by the grace of stringy gods” (p. 240 — so much for Brian Greene!).
Notwithstanding this, Magueijo has worked on occasion with both string and loop quantum gravity theorists. His own theories currently also lack experimental testing, but at least he’s frank about this fact (and worried about correcting it).
All in all, Magueijo’s brashness and willingness to expose dirty laundry is a welcome alternative to the official story of science that we so often get.
Physics 4: Faster Than the Speed of Light
Joao Magueijo’s Faster Than the Speed of Light is a hoot: something that can’t be said about very many science books. Magueijo is lucid but light (make that ‘lite’) on the details of theoretical physics and cosmology, but he’s great at conveying the flavor of how science works in practice.
Actually, the book’s title is a misnomer: Magueijo isn’t claiming that anything can go faster than the speed of light, but rather that the speed of light is itself variable under certain circumstances (like at the initial moments of the Big Bang, or in a black hole). (Hence his approach is called VSL –variable speed of light — theory). VSL was originally concocted in order to offer an alternative to Alan Guth’s inflation theory as an account of how certain features of the universe (its relative homogeneity, and its relative “flatness,” or balance between the opposing forces of expansion and gravity) came about.
VSL theory may or may not be correct; but Magueijo claims it has several advantages in comparison to inflation. On the one side, it hooks up much more interestingly to work on theories of quantum gravity (string theory and/or loop quantum gravity); on the other hand, it seems to make more in the way of potentially testable predictions than inflation, or quantum gravity theories, are able to do.
(Just a few days ago, a new study was released that seems to put VSL theory into doubt, or that at least invalidates an earlier study that seemed to provide support for VSL).
But what’s great about Magueijo’s book is that he frankly recognizes the possibility that his theory will be falsified. His argument is that scientific discovery has to take these sorts of risks; it’s the only way that new ideas, some of which turn out to be important and true, get generated in the first place.
In line with this, the meat of Magueijo’s book is not in his explanation of the details of physical theory. Rather, it’s in the picture he paints of how scientific collaboration works: how small groups, or even communities, of scientists, are needed in order to develop new ideas. Scientific creativity is rarely solitary; as Magueijo points out, even Einstein couldn’t have gotten anywhere without his friends and peers.
The flip side of this, of course, is the sort of rivalry and infighting that takes place in scientific circles; together will all the idiocies of academic bureaucracy and ossification. Magueijo’s stories of “peer review” of journal submissions being used to settle personal scores and to enforce conformity, of theoretical schools taking on a cultlike status, and of ineptitude and imbecility in academia at the administrative level all were quite similar to things I have experienced or known about in my own field. It was exhilarating to find Magueijo calling out such things, often in hilarious and profane detail, instead of relegating them to the shadows.
Magueijo on string theory and loop quantum gravity: “Since they don’t connect with experiment or observations at all, they have become fashion accessories at best, at worst a sort of feudal warfare… As with every cult, people who do not conform to the party line are ostracized and persecuted” (p.236).
And again; “Stringy people have achieved nothing with a theory that doesn’t exist. They are excruciatingly pretentious in their claims for beauty; indeed, we are all assured that we live in an elegant universe, by the grace of stringy gods” (p. 240 — so much for Brian Greene!).
Notwithstanding this, Magueijo has worked on occasion with both string and loop quantum gravity theorists. His own theories currently also lack experimental testing, but at least he’s frank about this fact (and worried about correcting it).
All in all, Magueijo’s brashness and willingness to expose dirty laundry is a welcome alternative to the official story of science that we so often get.