One cosmic question, too many answers
Recent progress in string theory seems to leave physics further than ever from that dream of a unique solution to the theory's tangled equations -- a Grand Unified Theory.
Instead of a single answer, the equations of string theory seem to have so many solutions, millions upon millions of them, each describing a logically possible universe, that it may be impossible to tell which one describes our own.
String theorists and cosmologists are confronted with what Dr. Leonard Susskind of Stanford has called "the cosmic landscape," a sort of metarealm of space-times. Contrary to Einstein's hopes, it may be that neither God nor physics chooses among these possibilities, Dr. Susskind contends. Rather it could be life.
Only a fraction of the universes in this metarealm would have the lucky blend of properties suitable for life, Dr. Susskind explained. It should be no surprise that we find ourselves in one of these.
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