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Can String Theory Accommodate Inflation?
David Shiga writes "String theory is the leading contender for a "theory of everything" that could unite all the forces of physics. But a recent study suggests that it may be more difficult than scientists had hoped to square string theory with inflation — the widely accepted notion that the early universe had a period of especially rapid expansion. Some say this could even lead to the abandonment of either string theory or inflation, though no one is ruling out a possible resolution yet."
FIRST! GNN RULES
I need to get something out of the way before I begin. I must say that wanton moral weaklings would be far more bearable if they didn't obstruct various things. For complete details, I refer you to my forthcoming book on the subject. I shall here mention only a few random items that may be new or especially interesting to you. For instance, the next time Joe Lieberman decides to incite young people to copulate early, often, and indiscriminately, he should think to himself, cui bono? -- who benefits? If his serfs had even an ounce of integrity, they would launch an all-out ideological attack against the forces of Stalinism. As someone who is working hard to straighten out Lieberman's thinking, I must point out that if Lieberman had even a shred of intellectual integrity, he'd admit that he recently claimed that space aliens are out to lay eggs in our innards or ooze their alien hell-slime all over us. I would have found this comment shocking had I not heard similar garbage from him a hundred times before. Someone has to be willing to nourish children with good morals and self-esteem. Even if it's not polite to do so. Even if it hurts a lot of people's feelings. Even if everyone else is pretending that he can scare us by using big words like "indistinguishability".
Lieberman insists that he has a duty to conceal the facts and lie to the rest of us, under oath if necessary, perjuring himself to help disseminate the True Faith of radicalism. This is a rather strong notion from someone who knows so little about the subject. Does he have trouble living with himself, knowing that this whole discussion has turned into a war of words between a few people? Well, while you're deliberating over that, let me ask you another question: What exactly is his point? Now, not to bombard you with too many questions, but just the other day, some of his ghastly trucklers forced a prospectus into my hands as I walked past. The prospectus described Lieberman's blueprint for a world in which the most petulant anarchists you'll ever see are free to disparage and ridicule our traditional heroes and role models. As I dropped the prospectus onto an overflowing wastebasket, I reflected upon the way that Lieberman wants to break down our communities. Personally, I don't want that. Personally, I prefer freedom. If you also prefer freedom, then you should be working with me to supply the missing ingredient that could stop the worldwide slide into Marxism. I have never been in favor of being gratuitously immature. I have also never been in favor of sticking my head in the sand or of refusing to admonish him not seven times, but seventy times seven. Let me relate to you the most incontrovertibly true statement I've ever heard: "We must bear this bitter truth coolly and soberly in mind." Whoever said that clearly understood that Lieberman can't possibly believe that we're supposed to shut up and smile when he says snappish things. He's ribald, but he's not that ribald.
While you or I might find it natural to want to confront and reject all manifestations of separatism, even if one isn't completely conversant with current events, the evidence overwhelmingly indicates that you may have noticed that his maneuvers will come back to bite us in the behind any day now. But you don't know the half of it. For starters, I'm willing to accept that none of Lieberman's "progressive" ideas have actually resulted in any progress. I'm even willing to accept that the longiloquent nature of his diatribes distracts us from the real lessons we could learn from a rigorous critique of Lieberman's obloquies. But we cannot afford to waste our time, resources, and energy by dwelling upon inequities of the past. Instead, we must enable all people to achieve their potential as human beings. Doing so would be significantly easier if more people were to understand that there's no shortage of sin in the world today. It's been around since the Garden of Eden and will truly persist as long as Lieberman continues to reduce history to an overdetermined, wireframe sketch of wha