pbNobel Prize-winning physicist Roger Penrose questions some of the most fashionable ideas in physics today, including string theoryb pWhat can fashionable ideas, blind faith, or pure fantasy possibly have to do with the scientific quest to understand the universe Surely, theoretical physicists are immune to mere trends, dogmatic beliefs, or flights of fancy In fact, acclaimed physicist and bestselling author Roger Penrose argues that researchers working at the extreme frontiers of physics are just as susceptible to these forces as anyone else. In this provocative book, he argues that fashion, faith, and fantasy, while sometimes productive and even essential in physics, may be leading today's researchers astray in three of the field's most important areas--string theory, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. pArguing that string theory has veered away from physical reality by positing six extra hidden dimensions, Penrose cautions that the fashionable nature of a theory can cloud our judgme