[SerpentJoe]

Without getting into what it means to "trust" Woit or anyone else, whether we're talking about specialists or domain outsiders like myself: if experts disagree, it's up to them to explain why. I can't guess why their superior knowledge has led them to reject the line of argument unless they tell me.

[prof-dr-ir]

What I meant by "trust" is evidenced by this entire comment section, which is full of laypeople who appear convinced by Woit's arguments but seemingly do not wonder why the physicists in question were never swayed.

Witten has given quite a lot of interviews over the years, but his more mainstream views are unlikely to make it to the front page.

[SerpentJoe]

I think mainstream views would deserve attention if they're directly answering these criticisms. If such point by point responses exist, and if they're compelling, then that's what we should be talking about right now.

[prof-dr-ir]

It is probably all in the book "Why String Theory?" from 2015 by Joseph Conlon.