Blogger: Peter Woit
URL: www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress
First post: March 2004

Who is the blog written by?

Peter Woit, a mathematician at Columbia University, New York. He describes his career as unusual – after completing a PhD in theoretical particle physics in the 1980s, he realized that “someone who didn’t believe in string theory but wanted to apply mathematics to quantum field theory didn’t have much of a future in physics departments in the US”. For the last 10 years, he has held a permanent but untenured position in the maths department at Columbia.

What topics does the blog cover?

Woit has made his name as a critic of string theory. The blog is named after Wolfgang Pauli’s put-down of a young physicist’s paper, which is now used more generally to refer to a theory that does not make testable predictions. Most of Woit’s posts are about string theory and its problems, though he does write about other aspects of high-energy physics, both experimental and theoretical. Last year, Woit’s views became more prominent with the publication of a book with the same title as the blog (see “String theory gets knotted”). His book, together with Lee Smolin’s similarly themed The Trouble With Physics, propelled the debate over string theory into national newspapers and magazines.

Who is the blog aimed at?

Woit tries to make his posts accessible to a general audience, but when your main topic is string theory, that is always going to be difficult. However, it seems that many non-physicists do tune in, perhaps attracted by the heated debate that often breaks out in the comments on his posts.

Why should I read it?

Woit’s criticisms of string theory make interesting reading, and so do the arguments that he generates with string-theorist bloggers such as Luboš Motl at Harvard University (Reference Frame) and Clifford Johnson at the University of Southern California (Asymptotia). If you try to follow a link from Woit’s blog to Motl’s, you will now be presented with a note from Motl reading: “Sorry, but I really can’t afford to share readers with that particular person who produces so many untrue statements and who parasites on the work of scientists.” Insults flying between physicists are not something the public normally get to witness, which is one reason Woit’s blog is so compelling (see Physics World January pp24–28, print version only).

How often is the blog updated?

Once every day or two, usually with quite lengthy posts.

Can you give me a sample quote?

“This latest claim about a ‘test for string theory’ is quite remarkable and even more bogus than usual. It is based on a paper which has nothing to with string theory and doesn’t do a string theory calculation at all. The year is just beginning, but I’m already willing to award this press release the title of ‘most outrageously misleading string theory hype of 2007’. It is going to be extremely hard for anyone else to match it.”