We provide a non-technical introduction to "misaligned supersymmetry", a
generic phenomenon in string theory which describes how the arrangement of
bosonic and fermionic states at all string energy levels conspires to preserve
finite string amplitudes even in the absence of spacetime supersymmetry.
Misaligned supersymmetry thus naturally constrains the degree to which
spacetime supersymmetry can be broken in string theory while preserving the
finiteness of string amplitudes, and explains how the requirements of modular
invariance and absence of physical tachyons affect the distribution of states
throughout the string spectrum.Comment: 13 pages, uuencoded PostScript (with figures already embedded) [Talk
presented at MRST '94: "What Next? Exploring the Future of High-Energy
Physics" (held at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 11--13 May 1994), and
at PASCOS '94: "Particles, Strings, and Cosmology" (held at Syracuse
University, Syracuse, NY, 19--24 May 1994). To appear in Proceedings
published by World Scientific.
