You have that one basic string, but it can vibrate in many ways. But we're trying to get a lot of particles because experimental physicists have discovered a lot of particles.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the complexity and variety within fundamental principles, particularly in the realm of physics.
Edward Witten highlights the idea that while there may be a basic foundational theory or string in physics, there are countless manifestations and variations of it, much like how a single string can vibrate in numerous ways. This reflects the rich diversity of particles that have been discovered and the ongoing exploration in theoretical physics that leads to new understandings.
In practice
In a science lecture discussing particle physics, you might quote this to describe the complexity of the subject.
Quantum mechanics brought an unexpected fuzziness into physics because of quantum uncertainty, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. String theory does so again because a point particle is replaced by a string, which is more spread out.
But the beauty of Einstein's equations, for example, is just as real to anyone who's experienced it as the beauty of music. We've learned in the 20th century that the equations that work have inner harmony.
I wouldn't have thought that a wrong theory should lead us to understand better the ordinary quantum field theories or to have new insights about the quantum states of black holes.
Regardless of any deviations, it was clear I was supposed to end up in math and physics.
Even before string theory, especially as physics developed in the 20th century, it turned out that the equations that really work in describing nature with the most generality and the greatest simplicity are very elegant and subtle.
It's an exaggeration to say that I came up with M-theory.
Human exploration is something that's been going on for thousands of years, and the models that worked 500 years ago are likely to work again today.
Faced with the evidence, many deniers have started to admit that global warming is real, but argue that humans have little or nothing to do with it.
Right now, there could well be messages from the stars flying right through this room. Through you and me. And if we had the right receiver set up properly, we could detect them. I still get chills thinking about it.
Thanks to the discoveries of astronomers in the twentieth century, we now know that the heat death is a myth. The heat death can never happen, and there is no paradox.
The way to understand how different species evolved is to think about the niches that they fill in an ecosystem - basically, how they make a living.
Science should be the most fun job on the planet. You get to ask questions about the world around you and go out and seek the answers. Not to have fun doing that is crazy.
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