Yes, quantum mechanics is counterintuitive, but then for subatomic particles it gives correct results and relativity gives incorrect results.
String theory may be the way forward, but there is no consensus yet. Besides, strings would be so small, there is no way to verify that they actually exist. Still it's very interesting.
I’m not sure that it really gives “correct” results. It seems to hold together mathematically, but no one has actually tested the theory. The only way you can really test the theory is to recognize that the fundamental staple is a probability. No one has ever tested to see if the actual probabilities are the same as the predicted probabilities. The crown achievement of quantum theory is Feynman’s calculation of the value of the electron charge, based on probabilities. If you look up the value of an electron charge, you will see it calculated to the 23rd decimal place, but no one has actually measured it that far because it’s simply impossible. Everyone assumes that Feynman’s calculation is correct, so they use the theoretical value. And you have physicists claiming that the theory is correct because it gives you a value of the charge of an electron precise to the 23rd decimal place. What they really mean, though, is that you can predict the charge of an electron to the 23rd decimal place. Whether the prediction is correct, though, is another matter. And no one knows that.
I don’t think string theory makes much sense, either. Probably the best place to start would be with Special Relativity. Einstein’s theory is the closest I think to the mother load, but it’s got a problem. It’s not a complete theory of time. You can compare your own time regime to the time regime prevailing in another frame of reference, but there is nothing in the theory that explains the rate at which time passes in your own frame of reference. In order to get at the bottom line, you need a theory of time, and they don’t have that yet. The nature of time is still a mystery. Once you have the answer to that, you can adjust the Special Theory to take that into consideration, and then a new version of quantum theory will fall right into place.
“String theory may be the way forward, but there is no consensus yet.”
I started to respond to another poster, but saw this and realized you have wonderfully condensed all that is wrong with all that is called science today.
SCIENCE IS NOT DONE MY CONSENSUS.
Every new discovery in science always comes from that rare individual genius who contradicts the consensus.
Global warming and evolution are “sciences” done by “consensus;” which is why they are not science.
(Don’t get funny ideas. I do not believe in God or creation.)
Hank