Have you ever read The Trouble with Physics (Lee Smolin)? It's really two books in one. Most of the book is a great discussion about the current state of theoretical physics (TP). He discusses the dominance of string theory and the near-exclusion of other approaches in TP. He argues that progress in TP is being retarded by an unwillingness to allow different approaches.
The last 4-5 chapters are all about sociology and how it contributes to the problems described in the first part of the book. He also touches on the fact that these problems plague many other fields.
Yep, I've read it... It's an interesting read and I think it is pretty applicable here. Although I do have to say Smolin is a bit biased because of the whole war between String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity. ;-)
