Nomenclature

There are two issues to be dealt with here:

    * When Witten named M-theory, he did not specify what the “M” stood for, presumably because he did not feel he had the right to name a theory which he had not been able to fully describe. According to Witten himself, “‘M’ can stand for either ‘magic’, ‘mystery’, or ‘matrix’, according to taste.” According to the BBC/TLC documentary Parallel Universes, the M stands for “membrane”. Other suggestions by people such as Michio Kaku, Michael Duff and Neil Turok in that documentary are “mother” (as in “mother of all theories”), and “master” theory.

Cynics have noted that the M might be an upside down “W”, standing for Witten. Others have suggested that for now, the “M” in M-theory should stand for Missing or Murky.

2011.01.21 Friday ACHK