Jack Uretsky and David Emigh are valuable colleagues whom we all need
to put these things in proper perspective. I don't know any particle
physics, so I look for experts. Those two exceed by one the number
at my own university on whose doors I can knock to find out about
such things. My sincere thanks, Jack and David.
I hold the same opinion, by the way, but it is only a prejudice; I'm
too far removed from the physics of the topic to have an informed
opinion. People who are closer to the topic *and* who reinforce my
prejudices are, by definition, valuable colleagues. There are *more*
valuable colleagues, of course: those who significantly alter my
prejudices are the most valuable of all.
I have just returned from a session with a colleague who is helping
me to understand general relativity by answering my questions
brilliantly. I'm reading a new book, "Exploring Black Holes:
Introduction to General Relativity" by Edwin F. Taylor and John
Archibald Wheeler. It doesn't try to do all of GR at once (it does
not introduce the Einstein field equations) but it does get one to
the level where some useful calculation can be done. I hope it gets
me there.