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Trends in physics, esp. new fundamental---a calm place to discuss trends
Hans de Vries, I think it was, suggested a subforum where one could discuss trends. I think he meant trends in fundamental physics. Notice however that the way you measure trends, besides subjective judgement, is with data like publication rates, citatation rates, faculty hiring etc. And this gets categorized as sociology. So here we are.
As a parenthetical remark, people may react with hostility to data if they don't like what it seems to them to be saying. Factual data is not harmful itself, but you have to be careful how you interpret it. And there is sometimesa risk that people won't like what it seems to suggest and will attack the messenger instead of responding to the message.
There needs to be a calm place where one can discuss trends. And people should avoid naive over-interpretation. For instance just because string publication rate goes down one year doesn't mean a valid theory won't someday emerge, having something to do with Nature, or that the same publication rate won't turn around and go up the next year. Likewise with book sales and readership---the numbers hardly decide the scientific truth or falsity of propositions!
So here's a place where one might discuss a trend or two in basic physics, if someone wanted. I will wait a little bit and see if anyone shows up and posts something. Likely enough they will not, so eventually I will post about some trend in QG and cosmology which interests me.
Hans de Vries, I think it was, suggested a subforum where one could discuss trends. I think he meant trends in fundamental physics. Notice however that the way you measure trends, besides subjective judgement, is with data like publication rates, citatation rates, faculty hiring etc. And this gets categorized as sociology. So here we are.
As a parenthetical remark, people may react with hostility to data if they don't like what it seems to them to be saying. Factual data is not harmful itself, but you have to be careful how you interpret it. And there is sometimesa risk that people won't like what it seems to suggest and will attack the messenger instead of responding to the message.
There needs to be a calm place where one can discuss trends. And people should avoid naive over-interpretation. For instance just because string publication rate goes down one year doesn't mean a valid theory won't someday emerge, having something to do with Nature, or that the same publication rate won't turn around and go up the next year. Likewise with book sales and readership---the numbers hardly decide the scientific truth or falsity of propositions!
So here's a place where one might discuss a trend or two in basic physics, if someone wanted. I will wait a little bit and see if anyone shows up and posts something. Likely enough they will not, so eventually I will post about some trend in QG and cosmology which interests me.