The article explores the theme of physicists' continual search for a unified theory of physics, suggesting a disconnect between experimental successes and the expectation for a deeper understanding of reality. Despite advancements, physicists find themselves in a cycle of speculation without clear means of verification. This leads to a growing anxiety within the field, pushing for increasingly grandiose theories. Ultimately, the author advocates for a pluralist perspective, encouraging the integration of various disciplines and critical perspectives to reassess the nature of what constitutes the universe.
Today, however, the reality physicists work to uncover appears increasingly removed from the one they inhabit. Despite its experimental successes, physics has repeatedly failed to live up to the expectation of delivering a deeper, 'final' physics.
Seemingly beset with a sense of anxiety that nothing new will be found or that future experiments will reveal only further ignorance, the field of fundamental physics is incentivised to pursue ever more fanciful ideas.
I argue that the pursuit of unity and dominance of a more fundamental reality presents itself not as physicists' unique prerogative, but instead as an impossible burden placed on their shoulders by the modern world.
I suggest that we should embrace a more pluralist and nuanced understanding of what comprises the cosmos, an understanding that not only accepts but invites criticism from other practices, disciplines and realities.
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