The Problem
The Problem is the Mental Cage of an Outdated Paradigm
Particle physicists have operated exclusively within a set of unquestioned assumptions for many decades. The results have gone from good to mediocre to bad.
Some of these assumptions are that: (1) the dark matter must be some exotic particle, (2) the Planck Scale is regarded as as an article of faith, (3) absolute scale cannot be questioned, (4) if the proton’s radius or the quark-gluon plasma have unpredicted properties, just add epicycles, (5) if the LHC produces the Nightmare Scenario, just assume we must go to ever-higher energies, (6) The Vacuum Energy Density Crisis can be ignored for another 40 years, etc.
There are alternative paradigms with sufficient empirical motivation and an assortment of definitive predictions. Here is one:
It would require a radical questioning of our most cherished, but untested, assumptions. One hopes for a new generation of theoretical physicists who are less locked into the mental cage of the old paradigm.