Various approaches to string theory indicate a limit to reductionism in the sense of looking for smaller and smaller parts: T-duality makes small distances in one string theory into large distances in an equivalent, dual theory. Matrix theory doesn’t even use space. The whole concept of “oscillating strings” is probably a naive and mathematically inefficient representation of the true physical content of the theory, though until we get something better, we can only limp along with the math and the concepts that we have. But already it looks like the beginning of the end.
Various approaches to string theory indicate a limit to reductionism in the sense of looking for smaller and smaller parts: T-duality makes small distances in one string theory into large distances in an equivalent, dual theory. Matrix theory doesn’t even use space. The whole concept of “oscillating strings” is probably a naive and mathematically inefficient representation of the true physical content of the theory, though until we get something better, we can only limp along with the math and the concepts that we have. But already it looks like the beginning of the end.