John,
A further thought (maybe not original) after reading your essay again..
What if particle theory is unnecessary?
The physics of the last 2000 years has been dominated by measuring moving mass. Moving mass is what we see and touch, or try to detect and measure if we can't see or touch it.
A particle suffices to satisfy our need to visualize something solid. Our visualization of solidity derives from the senses of touch and vision. Both of these work by energy sensors. The brain creates the perception of solidity from energy detection (philanthropic theory?).
Particles are interchangeable with energy, mass is energy. A force is a movement of energy in space time, which can be described in terms of wavelength, frequency, amplitude and phase.
All particle physics experiments detect energy. Everything we measure is a change in, or relocation of energy.
All energy can be described by wave theory. Forces can be unified in wave theory.
How nice it would be to forget about all those real and imaginary, infinite and mass-less particles, and think only of wavelength, frequency, amplitude and phase.
ajh44@live.co.uk