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laboratory observation if the six extra dimensions beyond space and
time are unobservable. In recent formulation of string theory, the
extra dimensions are unobservable because they are smaller than
any observable size, and their topological properties are responsible
for the physical properties of the observed particles. Somehow, we
feel that a deeper understanding of string theory will lead to a consis–
tent formulation in four dimensions. For now, one should not lose
sight that it is a possibly consistent and finite quantum theory of
gravity that could include the other interactions known to man.
With that in mind, it is amusing to recall the immortal words of
Sherlock Holmes, "When you have excluded the impossible, what–
ever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
By stretching the imagination, one can conclude by suggesting
that the reconciliation of the two most important theories of modern
physics within string theory suggests a Hegelian synthesis: gravity
and quantum mechanics unified on a higher level using a quantum
geometry of strings spinning in space. To return to where we began,
with
Genesis,
another recent development in physics has led to a
mathematical theory of chaos and turbulence. Perhaps the
•
developments beyond the horizon will lead to an understanding of
the formless void before the creation oflight, whose dynamics lead to
string theory.
