So...guess I'm the new guy

[Vincenzo Vinny G.]

We would have to find some kind of unified theory that incorporates everything under one umbrella.

In physics, the unified field theory is the holy grail for this reason. It brings together all these various, diverse subsets into one coherent system.

A simple way to think of it is to imagine if monetary denominations could not be exchanged. So 100 cents can never be used in place of a dollar. These two denominations would be separate, inexchangable and we would really struggle. Finally facilitating an exchange between dollars and cents would be an amazing experience and become a Nobel-prize worthy achievement that would lead to economic growth (or rather stability) skyrocketing.

Unfortunately, physics itself hasn't accomplished this feat, and it becomes incredibly difficult for trans-conceptual unification to even be conceivable.

In theoretical physics this hump can sometimes be gotten over by just pretending, or imagining that there is a way to perform this exchange. But it's not real. It's just semiotic substitution. But it's a viable trick, like algebraic substitution of numbers and variables.

Until then, we are just pretending. And as long as the pretense can bring us LED TVs, hex-core CPUs, rocket ships and all sorts of neat little doodads, we can't complain.

But for people who are interested in the truth and reality, in metaphysics, and the foundations of science, this is a deep problem. Like waking up one day and realizing you don't love your wife anymore.

But wasn't the whole point of bringing up this subject is that this is something in need of an answer we should all be striving to find? I agree that it is an interesting idea, but how is someone like myself, who has only a year of community college, supposed to work towards finding a unified theory? I am interested in the truth and reality and have been starting to do some reading, but it seems to me that my interest is not going to further the subject beyond where others are able to take it. So, what do you have that will convince me that this is a very important for me personally to study beyond some sort of personal satisfaction derived from obtaining knowledge?

No I think somebody was under the assumption that science is the holy grail and will lead to a utopia if we just follow science and reason.

But this is too charitable an understanding of the truth-providing values of science. The real accomplishments of science is in giving us the foundational theories on which to master our environment. We can work with chemistry, we can work with physics, electronics. We can predict the weather, send things into space, calculate the trajectory of objects, build nifty little gadgets.

But this is altogether a different issue from the question of ultimate truth.

The jump from classical physics to quantum physics was a mindboggling mental leap. Yet, did you know that theoretical physics suggests that we may have as many as ten different dimensions in our universe itself? Forget about 3-D, or the space-time block (4 dimensions). Imagine ten freakin dimensions!

And we know heads nor tails about any of these other dimensions. Heck we don't even fully grasp the nature of time and how it fits into physics. And quantum mechanics physics? Let me just quote theoretical physicist Richard Feynman: ""Anyone who says that they understand Quantum Mechanics does not understand Quantum Mechanics"

We don't know nothing! All we have are these nifty little doodads and some very tentative theories about the world we live in. We're like sitting ducks, waiting to learn something that will turn everything we believe upside down.

So people who put all their trust in the current status of science and think it gives them all the truth they need are like flat-earthers who are just waiting to face the uppercut of the curvature of the earth's surface.

It's a different kind of religion. A different kind of worship. The only irony is that these are the people who think they are too cool for religion and think they know better.