What is troubling...

Liked the theme of the book, what is trouble with Physics (lee samolin), that the knowledge is what:
1) can explain any event(past or existing)
2) can predict an event in future, in terms of guiding new experiment or explaining undiscovered/unexplained phenomenon.

So string theory (if there is one, out of theoretically 10**500 possible solutions) which has preoccupied physicists for last 25 years, so far hasn't succeeded on 2nd account. Mathematics is considered elementary of all of basic sciences: Physics, Chemistry, now Biology too. But nature even at cosmic level doesn't seem to follow exact mathematics. For example, expansion of universe has no symmetric geometry, it is apparently skewed at one end. What is another end which is it running from? Another universe/s!!!
With recent financial crisis, the same questions are raised for Economists too. Other branches of study, sociology, Psychology etc; anyways struggle to justify themselves as the true sciences.

Is this the end of ever expansive human knowledge? Certainly not. Is there a bigger problem, Americanism? I just pointed out to one friend that late 19th century to 1st half of 20th century, most of the nuclear physicsts and sociologists hailed from Germany. He quipped, today most of them are from America. Is current American way of doing science (institutionalizing them with businesses and universities), is detrimental to new inventions, free thinking etc.....

Now this is venturing into one of the most active political debate.....