HackerTube.dev

string theory lied to us and now science communication is hard

Angela Collier · 1.5M views · 2023-04-21 · 52:11

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Physicist Angela Collier's roughly hour-long video on how string theory was hyped to the public and what that did to science communication. She traces the history of the theory as a narrative and argues it is interesting but was oversold.

On Hacker News

Recommended as an engaging critique of string theory hype and its effect on public trust in physics, and often cited alongside Peter Woit's writing.

Recommended by 8 HN people across 5 months · HN mentions 2023–2026

Topics

Scientific method & science communicationFundamental physics
Search by tags
string theoryphysicsscience communicationhypehistory of physics

What people said

sockmeistr · 2024-03 · Strong recommendation

I just wanted to second this recommendation - while the video is nearly an hour long, it feels much shorter and is well worth watching: [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
echelon · 2024-02 · Strong recommendation

This [1] is a fantastic refutation of string theory in that the string theorists have taken more than their fair share of research dollars and public consciousness and that it's time for other branches of physics to get the funding. With limited resources, if you don't context switch, you starve everything else. [1] [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗
carrozo · 2026-01 · Recommendation

not a physicist but this video by Angela Collier is a fun watch: “string theory lied to us and now science communication is hard. [VIDEO]

Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by Angela Collier , played through YouTube.

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks
  • SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
  • Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources