Let Clues be Clues: On building better fundamental theories.

Gavin Rowland
You write:
"We are used to physical laws that are inviolate - laws that are forever and everywhere you look."

Why "laws"? And if we accept that the Universe is governed by one LAW (a meta-law in the spirit of Heraclitus), and the so-called. "laws of Nature" - are they just particular manifestations of this LAW?

<<We need to try to find energies, or laws, that could be naturally occurring. It would also be good to see more symmetry, unification and simplicity at this level.>>

Yes, "unification" and "simplicity" in the construction of the "physical (metaphysical) first-beginning" (Yu.S. Vladimirov, 2017). But a new look at matter is still needed: MATTER is that from which more and more new meanings, forms and structures (material and ideal) are born. Then "antimatter" will not be needed. And why only "symmetry"? And if the "physical (metaphysical)first-beginning " is "symmetry" and "asymmetry" in their ontological unity?

Overcoming the modern conceptual and paradigm crisis in the metaphysical / ontological basis of fundamental science (mathematics, physics, cosmology) requires new radical ontological ideas. A Ontological кevolution is needed in the foundations of knowledge..
"Clues" were given by Heraclitus, Plato, Kuzansky, Galileo, Florensky, Einstein, Whitehead, Wheeler:
A. Einstein “I like to experience the universe as one harmonious whole. Every cell has life. Matter, too, has life; it is energy solidified."
A.N. Whitehead: “A precise language must await a completed metaphysical knowledge.”
John A. Wheeler: “We are no longer satisfied with insights only into particles, fields of force, into geometry, or even into time and space. Today we demand of physics some understanding of existence itself."
P. Florensky: “We repeat: worldunderstanding is spaceunderstanding."

To understand the "EXISTENCE itself" means to "grasp" (understand) the nature of the primordial TENSION of the Cosmos. And for this it is necessary to "grasp" the primordial ontological structure of matter. That is, to build a model "being-nothing/otherbeing-becoming" and introduce a new concept, the semantic core of the model - ontological (structural, cosmic) memory, "soul of matter", its measure.
Quantum theory, General relativity and String theory are phenomenological (parametric, operationalist) theories without ontological justification (ontological basification). To overcome the crisis in the foundations of fundamental science, it is necessary to move to a holistic paradigm, structural thinking, and processes with memory. Physics must move from the stage "Phenomenological physics" to the stage "Ontological physics".

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A number of recent books have described theoretical physics as an area that has lost its way. Meanwhile cosmology has been delivering a wealth of data, and has repeatedly required the addition of various "dark" cosmological entities to explain observations. Have the failures of supersymmetry and string theory taught the theoretical physics community anything? This essay proposes that the current approach to the dark universe is repeating the same mistakes, and attempts to outline a way forward
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As far as DE and the Dark Universe, the first question to ask , is are the solutions to the Einstein equations, relegating our study of Gravity OPTIMAL ?
Not necessarily

The smoking gun in all this is the existence of two very different measurements of the Hubble expansion rate, the old chestnut being the stark differences leading to the expression HUBBLE TENSION
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Hubble Tension: The Evidence of New Physics
Jian-Ping Hu, Fa-Yin Wang
The ΛCDM model provides a good fit to most astronomical observations but harbors large areas of phenomenology and ignorance. With the improvements in the precision and number of observations, discrepancies between key cosmological parameters of this model have emerged. Among them, the most notable tension is the 4σ to 6σ deviation between the Hubble constant (H0) estimations measured by the local distance ladder and the cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurement. In this review, we revisit the H0 tension based on the latest research and sort out evidence from solutions to this tension that might imply new physics beyond the ΛCDM model. The evidence leans more towards modifying the late-time universe.
end of quote
What we have here, are some screaming inconsistencies in terms of measurement sets. My proposal is very simple, that there being a doubling down on finding the root of such conflicting results, and be a bit hesitant about assuming ONE correct approach.
As far as DE and the later universe, until we get the Hubble Tension issue resolved, we really should be a big careful about saying what we do and DO NOT know.
Its difficult for scientists to step back and say, unequivocally that we may not know what we are talking about. Unfortunately some times that is NECESSARY.
The main fault I see in the DE explorations, is an over eagerness to proclaim a magic bullet as to what composes DE. Shame on you, shame on ME, shame on all of us as to the Dark Universe. I am as guilty as sin about this in terms of DE . HELL I even wrote an ARTICLE with a link to DE.
The only reason why I can look myself in the mirror in this is that I am comparatively small potatoes , and so I do not have a lot of gravitas. As far as the Physics leaders are concerned, it really should be " Look before you leap" time. For me being what I am speculation on this is harmless. It is not exactly true in the case of tenured professors from Harvard and/or MIT whom have an outsized influence.
In My own ESSAY, I cite a disinclination to explore the foundations, and THIS example brought up by this author is all of that.
Called DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS before they HATCH

You have to think big!
It is known that Newton determined the gravitational coefficient through the parameters of the orbits of the planets of the solar system. If the gravitational coefficient is determined in a similar way from the parameters of the orbits of electrons in the Hydrogen atom, then the gravitational coefficient of the planetary system of the Hydrogen atom becomes 40 orders of magnitude greater than in the solar system. Then the Planck parameters of the Hydrogen atom are the parameters of an electron with its radius equal to the radius of the Compton wave of the electron. Those. each level of fractal matter has its own “Planck parameters”, and the generally accepted Planck parameters are an abstract delusion and have no real meaning at all. Indeed, what relation does the gravitational coefficient from the parameters of the Solar system have to the parameters of the planetary system of the Hydrogen atom? None!!!

You have to think big!
The fine structure constant can be easily calculated with an accuracy of up to 7 digits, assuming that all elements of matter have a fractal structure. Then, therefore, "black holes" do not exist, and there is no event horizon. Those. inside putative "black holes", there is deterministic matter that obeys the simple quantum laws of fractal matter, which unify gravity and quantum phenomena of the deterministic functioning of matter on all scales of the universe [ appendix: https://s3.amazonaws.com/fqxi.data/data/essay-contest-files/16/reference_id_2304.pdf
https://qspace.fqxi.org/competitions/entry/2304#control_panel ].