Einstein is to physics, as what Fauci is to medicine.

Way too harsh. Einstein was neither a fraud nor a psychopath trying to impose a tyranny designed to crush humanity and kill millions (billions, actually) in the process.

Einstein's 1921 Nobel Prize was for his "discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect" -- which more or less kicked off quantum theory. Relativity theory is primarily his -- and both work extremely well; GPS systems rely on relativity and most of the modern world -- the newish, high-tech parts anyway -- would not even exist without our understanding of quantum mechanics.

That doesn't mean either theory is fully correct or that they both won't be overthrown someday (perhaps soon) the same way Newtonian physics was superseded BY the standard model. But note that for everyday use, including the building of bridges and so on, Newton's equations still work fine. It's only at the extremes (of mass, relative velocity, etc) that relativistic and quantum effects become relevant. Likewise, whatever comes after the standard model will have to make the same predictions in nearly all circumstances as quantum and relativity theories (I'm considering them both as standard model components).

In any case, other theories ARE out there, such as the Electric Universe theory. There are others.

I'm more interested in quantum fundamentals, the interpretation of what the theory and experimental results of quantum physics in particular tells about the actual structure of the universe. There are dozens of such interpretations, the best-known being the idea that unless something is being observed it exists only as a cloud of probabilities -- including your living room and distant galaxies -- and the mulitple universe theory (there are different kinds of multiverse theories, but here I'm talking about the theory that at every point where things could go more than one way, entire new universes spit off to accommodate each and every possible choice).

BOTH of those ideas seem completely insane. Yet, serious and well-known physicists believe that's how things actually are. Here's an interesting one: Here's an interesting one: The Idea of the World: A Multi-Disciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality .

Einstein is to physics, as what Fauci is to medicine.

Way too harsh. Einstein was neither a fraud nor a psychopath trying to impose a tyranny designed to crush humanity and kill millions (billions, actually) in the process.

Einstein's 1921 Nobel Prize was for his "discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect" -- which more or less kicked off quantum theory. Relativity theory is primarily his -- and both work extremely well; GPS systems rely on relativity and most of the modern world -- the newish, high-tech parts anyway -- would not even exist without our understanding of quantum mechanics.

That doesn't mean either theory is fully correct or that they both won't be overthrown someday (perhaps soon) the same way Newtonian physics was superseded BY the standard model. But note that for everyday use, including the building of bridges and so on, Newton's equations still work fine. It's only at the extremes (of mass, relative velocity, etc) that relativistic and quantum effects become relevant. Likewise, whatever comes after the standard model will have to make the same predictions in nearly all circumstances as quantum and relativity theories (I'm considering them both as standard model components).

In any case, other theories ARE out there, such as the Electric Universe theory. There are others.

I'm more interested in quantum fundamentals, the interpretation of what the theory and experimental results of quantum physics in particular tells about the actual structure of the universe. There are dozens of such interpretations, the best-known being the idea that unless something is being observed it exists only as a cloud of probabilities -- including your living room and distant galaxies -- and the mulitple universe theory (there are different kinds of multiverse theories, but here I'm talking about the theory that at every point where things could go more than one way, entire new universes spit off to accommodate each and every possible choice.

BOTH of those ideas seem completely insane. Yet, serious and well-known physicists believe that's how things actually are.