Anti-string delusions and political correctness

A science babe working for the Huffington Post left-wing website recorded a video interview with Mark Jackson who is now in Paris:



The title matches the first sentence of the interview and it is annoying.




Well, the title is:

'Superstring Theory Is A Bit Controversial,' Theoretical Physicist Mark Jackson Explains (VIDEO)

The interview has attracted over 500 comments.

While most of the interview is an okay and highly conventional layperson's introduction to string theory and cosmology (CMB), I would love to know who had the idea that the interview could – or had to? – start in this idiotic and totally dishonest way. Needless to say, there is absolutely nothing controversial about string theory – except among hopeless cranks and anti-science activists in general.

But someone must think that it's desirable if not required to include similar indefensible trash talk to reports about physics. I find the situation analogous to reports about the richest nations, the white race, or the wealthiest corporations – all things that are successful to the extent that they induce jealousy. When PC sources such as left-wing websites talk about them, they are obliged to repeat some negatively sounding myths about them, too.

In all incarnations, this political correctness is obnoxious. Sometimes I even feel it has become politically incorrect to state the self-evident fact that the critics of string theory are imbeciles.



Incidentally, one of the hottest stories (EN) in the Czech newspapers talks about Sheldon Cooper's success in saving the life of his and his friends by singing a carol (CZ I, II) about St Wenceslaus, the Czech patron, in the latest episode of TBBT, one which topped Thursday ratings with 16.7 million viewers. The journalists superficially focus on Sheldon's and Leonard's inability to pronounce the name Václav (Vuht-slaff, not Vaklaff).

The Czech readers also learn about a previous Czech-related comment by Sheldon: a decade ago, diarrhea came as quickly as the Nazi army occupied Czechoslovakia. They refer to the "Pancake Batter Anomaly" episode: ;-)

Penny: Studying abroad?
Sheldon Cooper: No, visiting professor. Anyway, the local cuisine was a little more sausage-based than I'm used to, and the result was an internal Blitzkrieg, with my lower intestine playing the part of Czechoslovakia.

Sheldon may mispronounce Czech names but he knows more about not just the Czech lands but also about Saturnalia and Christmas than the other characters combined. :-)