# Chronic Incompleteness, Final Theory Claims, and the Lack of Free Parameters in String Theory

## TL;DR

This paper discusses how the absence of free parameters in string theory relates to its incomplete status and the idea that it might be a final, complete theory, impacting future research directions.

## Contribution

It analyzes the connection between string theory's lack of free parameters and its potential as a final theory, highlighting implications for fundamental physics research.

## Key findings

- String theory lacks dimensionless free parameters at a fundamental level.
- The absence of free parameters may explain its incomplete formulation.
- This feature suggests string theory could be a final, complete theory.

## Abstract

String theory has not even come close to a complete formulation after half a century of intense research. On the other hand, a number of features of the theory suggest that the theory, once completed, may be a final theory. It is argued in this chapter that those two conspicuous characteristics of string physics are related to each other. What links them together is the fact that string theory has no dimensionless free parameters at a fundamental level. The paper analyses possible implications of this situation for the long term prospects of theory building in fundamental physics.