2011/08/26 by Abraham Loeb, Loeb, Abraham
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · #Data Analysis #FOS: Physical sciences #Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM) #Research Data Management Practices #Scientific Computing and Data Management #Statistics and Probability (physics.data-an) #scientometrics and bibliometrics research
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1108.5282
openalex publication_date 2011/08/26 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In physics the value of a theory is measured by its agreement with experimental data. But how should the physics community gauge the value of an emerging theory that has not been tested experimentally as of yet? With no reality check, a hypothesis like string theory may linger for a while before physicists will know its actual value in describing nature. In this short article, I advocate the need for a website operated by graduate students that will use various measures of publicly available data (such as the growth rate of newly funded experiments, research grants, publications, and faculty jobs) to gauge the future dividends of various research frontiers. The analysis can benefit from past experience (e.g. in research areas that suffered from limited experimental data over long periods of time) and aim to alert the community of the risk from future theory bubbles.