more than a scientific debate My nineteenth birthday was Wednesday, but it was also the tenth anniversary of the death of Carl Sagan, who can be considered one of the first major popularizers of science. The popularization of science is, as we know, a noble cause, but it does have its problems.
The way some science journalists have portrayed theoretical physics is just one side effect of this popularization. Carl Sagan is not to blame for this, but it is unfortunate that there have been billions and billions of badly-written articles portraying physics as a cutthroat enterprise, where physicists either study string theory or perish.
One thing that no one seems to notice anymore is the difference in political ideology between the authors of "Not Even Wrong" and the Reference Frame. Woit's homepage describes conservative news sources as being run by "right-wing funded self-important creeps" and then gives a link to this blog.
I wouldn't have thought that the debate between pro-string and anti-string theorists had a political side, but maybe it does.
My own political views are nothing at all like Woit's, so it's not difficult to tell which of the two physics blogs I pay more attention to. Although I find Motl's recent postings on "global cooling" somewhat unusual...  ¶ 1:17 PM