Originally Posted by f-h
Most remarkable about the talk is that it is a stinging critizism of contemporary theoretical physics without actually ever mentioning it. Rovelli called Baez on that asking whether what he had just presented didn't imply that the theoretical physics of the last 25 years was "junk". To which John Baez replied after some hesitation "You said it".
Fabulous talk, if you have the chance to catch John Baez talk about anything at all, go.
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Thanks! I didn't like Rovelli's question, which put me on the spot. I didn't want to say "no, physics is doing okay!" But I didn't want to draw such an extreme conclusion from the difficulties fundamental physics finds itself in.
It's quite possible that in the future, lots of current fundamental physics will be seen as junk. It's possible that lots will be seen as visionary. Only time will tell. Either way, I don't have the right to pass any sort of judgement on other physicists, since I've tried to do better and haven't succeeded.
So, after hesitating, I pointed to Rovelli and said "
You said it!"
Of course this was meant as a double entendre, since in some moods I completely agree with his assessment. But I probably should have said something clearer, and less cute.