this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2024
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Astronomy
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I too don't really know enough to have an informed opinion, but I don't think "plausible" has much meaning in physics. It's more a question of whether the mathematics supports the theory and/or if it can be proved somehow.
There are plenty of things that the mathematics predicted that seemed completely implausible, but were later verified to be true. "Quantum Entanglement" jumps to mind as something Einstein dismissed as "spooky action at a distance", but it has since been confirmed.
I think you could consider all of physics or even all of science to be made up of placeholders meant to keep things moving until a better explanation comes along.
Yeah, "plausible" was the wrong word to use. Maybe "more elegant"? Then again, the truth (not that there is one, precisely) isn't always elegant.
I agree. I would add that intuition, common sense, and ideologies are also just placeholders in our journey to a better world.