ANSWERS: 7
  • String theory shows up in the math. Psychic activity? Not so much. At least not so you'd recognize it as such.
  • String theory is far from consensus. Like any branch of science in it's infancy, it is not close to universally accepted for just that reason; lack of evidence. All theories start off as unproven hypothesis and string theory is no exception. In science "belief" in an unproven theory usually equates to "belief that evidence will eventually support the theory".
  • "String Theory", as I understand it, seeks to explain certain physical anomalies. But it still covers normal day-to-day events. Yes, it is an infant theory, with potential. You seem to believe that scientists reject "psychic" events because it conflicts with their world view. I know a lot of scientists and you could not be more wrong. Scientists give little credence to "psychic evidence" because time and time again they have investigated and been disappointed. Most of the scientists I know would be overjoyed to find actual evidence of psychic phenomenon, as opposed to hearsay reports of unrepeatable events.
  • OK. String Theory is a very divisive topic amongst physicists. Here are a few of the issues with a few explanations. 1) Technically it is not a theory. It is perhaps a hypothesis or better still a purely mathematical hypothesis. So why do some like it? Physicists are very impressed by maths as it is not only a powerful tool but seems to be inextricably linked to the nature of reality (inverse square laws being a good example). The best physics produces elegant and beautiful formulae. All this from a construct of the human imagination. This impresses a lot of physicists. So when something is as mathematically beautiful as string theory it turns heads. 2) String theory has no method of testing it as yet, although there are some in the works so to speak. Not so much that there is no evidence but there are no testable predictions as yet. Proponents say this is just a matter of time, technology and money. Opponents say until you get that measurable prediction then it's not physics it is maths or philosophy. This view doesn't dissuade many string theorists as they don't believe this situation will be a permanent problem. 3) Nobody really believes string theory as yet or at least it is not accepted in the way Relativity is for example. The proponents have high hopes for it but most physicists will agree it is nowhere near universal acceptance or being proven beyond reasonable doubt. So whilst it has its fans the wider community has not accepted it as yet but many concede it is an interesting idea worthy of further study. 4) Tying all this back to the psychic element. The so called evidence for psychic phenomena is scrutinised heavily for a variety of reasons. One is that the evidence is often collected in a very poor manner. There are good reasons why laboratory science is well somewhat tedious and dull, it has to be as precise as possible. Much psychic evidence doesn't come in this form. This is anathema to science. Much like UFO photos and so on. "Why always so grainy?" is a common rebuke to the UFO/Alien visitor camp. Scientists like good solid evidence and a theoretical framework with which to work. 5) As there are no real theories of psychic phenomena it is difficult to falsify or explain anything even if there were evidence. This is one area that ST has paranormal 'science' beaten hands down. If evidence does bear out predictions in ST then there is a wonderful explanation within the theory for how the universe is. Without this framework it would be utterly useless. So many scientists don't accept string theory as yet. Psychic phenomena require a great deal of scrutiny just as anything else does (if you think the efforts in psychic research are intense just look at the time, effort and money that has gone into verifying something like the Standard Model). The reason it is so often dismissed as bunkum is that the evidence is so poor it could be used to support any position. Add to this the lack of explanatory power in most psychic research and you have some of the reason it is classed as a pseudo-science by many. There's more to it of course but I think I have typed enough.
  • That is an excellent question. I think that a lot of this has to do with the culture of academic physics, which is extremely conservative. It's been said that physics progresses by funerals. I have run into a couple of sources that refer an attitude toward the younger physicists of "shut up and calculate." Psychic ability basically chucks everything but the Holographic Universe theory out the window and places an enormous emphasis on the importance of consciousness in physics, something they've been trying hard to avoid for over 80 years. In other words, it makes a lot of very powerful and important people in the world of physics flat out wrong. Politics, politics, politics.
  • Government scientists have been studying secret psychic espionage for decades. Check out the CIA's Stargate Project. Russian scientists have been doing it openly for just as long.
  • 9-18-2017 Because psychic activity has been observed, and they always saw shenanigans. Randi, the magician, has performed live tests in controlled conditions and they have always failed.

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