Rule I: Except during a measurement, the wave evolves smoothly and deterministically, like a wave on water. ... Rule II: During a measurement of posi… - Lee Smolin

While most people... were seeking to modify the principles of either relativity or quantum theory, we surprised ourselves (and many other people) by succeeding in putting them together without modifying their principles.

The landscape problem and the problem of background independence are closely linked. The latter is the only route the former has to experimental confirmation.

Special pleading that the standards of science should be lessened to admit explanations with no falsifiable consequences, in order to keep alive a bold speculative idea, should be strongly resisted. ...ultimately science is not interested in what might be true, it is interested only in what can be convincingly demonstrated by deductions from observational evidence.