1/r^2 has a nasty singularity at r=0, but it did not bother Newton-the Moon is far enough.

M stands for Magic, Mystery, or Matrixaccording to taste

Im actually, for the most part, a complete agnostic politically.

String theory is an attempt at a deeper description of nature by thinking of an elementary particle not as a little point but as a little loop of vibrating string.

It's indeed surprising that replacing the elementary particle with a string leads to such a big change in things. I'm tempted to say that it has to do with the fuzziness it introduces.

Quantum mechanics brought an unexpected fuzziness into physics because of quantum uncertainty, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. String theory does so again because a point particle is replaced by a string, which is more spread out.

1/r^2 has a nasty singularity at r=0, but it did not bother Newton-the Moon is far enough.