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A theory of everything?

    Nature volume 433, pages 257–259 (2005)Cite this article

    In his later years, Einstein sought a unified theory that would extend general relativity and provide an alternative to quantum theory. There is now talk of a ‘theory of everything’ (although Einstein himself never used the phrase). Fifty years after his death, how close are we to such a theory?

    I have learned from the history of physics that the most spectacular developments usually come when the existing theoretical insights create conflict, when observed phenomena seem to defy logic. This happened when Max Planck investigated a problem in the statistical features of radiation — which led to the foundation of quantum mechanics. It also happened when Einstein asked questions about observers moving at the speed of light — which led to the theory of relativity. On a more modest scale, a problem with neutral currents in the weak interactions of particles led to the prediction of the charm quark.

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    A theory of everything?. Nature 433, 257–259 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/433257a

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