Lost in Math: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray

LOST IN MATH: How Beauty Leads Physics Astray by Sabine Hossenfelder. Basic Books, 2020. 304 pages. Paperback; $19.99. ISBN: 9781541646766. *EXISTENTIAL PHYSICS: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions by Sabine Hossenfelder. Atlantic Books, 2023. 248 pages. Paperback; $19.99. ISBN: 9781838950385. *"I invent new laws of nature; it's what I do for a living." This is the way German physicist Hossenfelder begins her 2020 book, Lost in Math. She goes on, through ten chapters, to explain why particle physics is at an impasse. Particle physicists have been unable to improve upon their "Standard Model," which goes back to the 1970s, largely because experimentation has become so expensive. The $6 billion Large…