Deja vu all over again?
Recently there was a presentation at a TED talk about whether we are reaching the “limits” of science:
http://www.ted.com/talks/harry_cliff_have_we_reached_the_end_of_physics#t-705970
This talk contains some breathless statements of how the universe is precariously situated due to values of certain numbers:
“And this value is crucial. If it were a tiny bit different, then there would be no physical structure in the Universe.”
(from)
Growing up, I remember the following statement being attributed to Lord Kelvin in 1900 (although this now seems to be disputed as a misquote of Albert A. Michelson) as an example of hubris:
“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.”
Are we there again so soon?