I realise quantum chromodynamics, like all other branches of modern theoretical physics, takes training to do properly, and a relatively high IQ. I know that in one or two cases, these activities generate actual testable predictions which agree with observed data. (In the case of quantum electrodynamics — Richard Feynman's claim to fame — allegedly the best agreement with data of any theory ever.)
Nevertheless, I'm sceptical of the whole of post-quantum theory (I know, how dare I) in the sense that (a) I'm not convinced these theories are really internally self-consistent, (b) parts of the associated theoretical apparatus strike me as being there for show. I.e. they look clever, but do they really amount to anything?
It's all a little reminiscent of the theory of epicycles, the prevailing model of astronomical phenomena at the time of Copernicus. There's a plethora of theoretical devices, the thing kind of works, but it's somehow highly unsatisfactory. Perhaps only on aesthetic grounds, but that may be quite a useful criterion. (Einstein thought so.)
Now with regard to physics, my scepticism about the theoretical apparatus being at least partly vacuous is only a suspicion. In the case of economics, I have more in-depth experience and think this is definitely the case. The fact that there is a sort of "emperor's clothes" thing going on in economics makes me feel it's not implausible that it's also going on in physics.
Actually it’s not that much a case of “emperor’s clothes”. In the case of economics, I believe many of the people on the inside either know or suspect that they’re really playing a sort of intellectual game which isn’t necessarily meaningful, but which provides them with status and pays the bills. There is now, incidentally, a whole movement based on opposition to gobbledygook economics called the Post-Autistic Economics Network. I don't think they really have a handle on it, though, because they seem to believe the problem is that economics isn't oriented enough towards "social issues", i.e. it's supposedly not sufficiently left-wing.
When Schrödinger came up with the Wave Equation in 1926, he didn't even know what the central variable psi stood for (and we still don't really). I think physics since then has got worse, in the sense of generating mathematics whose only merit is that some of the time it produces testable predictions, and these
