Theories of Everything, Mapped

September 1, 2015 11:09 AM

Explore the deepest mysteries at the frontier of fundamental physics, and the most promising ideas put forth to solve them. A map of the frontier of fundamental physics built by interactive developer Emily Fuhrman.
posted by one teak forest (10 comments total)

Wow, that's a lot of theory crammed into a small space! I'm having a really hard time understanding how the organization of information (the overlapping blobs) is supposed to relate the concepts to each other (and I have an undergrad degree in Physics, so I should be able to make some sense of it). If there is some meaning in the arrangement, it really needs some sort of explanation.

Also, why are we voting on theories? That seems rather contrary to the basic concept of science.
posted by ssg at 12:12 PM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks for posting this I was immediately sucked in and only just now extricated myself. I will definitely be going back over and over again. In contrast to ssg, I love the beautiful interactive floating blob diagram and the lucidity of the concise descriptions of concepts and theories. For me, that free floating organization is appropriate. If there was a logical, linear way to relate all this information wouldn't we already have a grand unifying theory? As a life long physics dilettante this will be a resource for me for a long time I think.
posted by txmon at 1:48 PM on September 1, 2015

Very interesting stuff, but heaven deliver us from twitchy multimedia animation.
posted by aught at 1:48 PM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

We're voting on theories? No one informed me of this.
posted by physicsmatt at 3:44 PM on September 1, 2015 [3 favorites]

When Experiment Music Project opened, it had a 'data lab' with machines that explored Rock History with 'twitchy' graphics like this ... only a -lot- faster. Topics and subtopics swirled about in that 'Exploratorium' in a most curiosity-arousing way. (NO idea who programmed all of that, a pioneering effort at the very least.)

Glad to see the idea is still alive and kicking; look forward to the end of the browser 'twitch'. There needs to be an app for that! Definitely a possible future for education (pushing the promise of PLATO forward).
posted by Twang at 4:44 PM on September 1, 2015

Also, why are we voting on theories? That seems rather contrary to the basic concept of science.
Well, the phrasing on the site is

vote for the ideas you find most elegant or promising,

not "...which are correct." The correctness of theories is decided by scientific methods but feelings and intuition still play a big role in deciding which unexplored regions are likely to bring fruit whether further exploration.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:03 PM on September 1, 2015

The article is disappointingly brief, but the map widget thing is pretty neat, and makes a good post.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:07 PM on September 1, 2015

Welcome back physicsmatt!
posted by Hairy Lobster at 6:50 PM on September 1, 2015

If you don't vote for a universe, you have no right to complain about it
posted by thelonius at 9:57 PM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

physicsmatt: We're voting on theories? No one informed me of this.

It was in your local GOP candidate handout.
posted by IAmBroom at 11:03 AM on September 2, 2015