The reason the scientific community initially dismissed Higgs' idea was that it seemed to have little empirical basis. The correct option is d.
Given the passage is shown in the attached images.
The fourth paragraph of the passage explains why Higgs' idea of the Higgs field was initially rejected by the scientific community: “The article has been rejected. Not because it contained a technical error, but because the premise of something invisible that enters space and interacts with particles to provide their mass, well, it all looked like a bunch of exaggerated speculation. In other words, the scientific community was skeptical of Higgs' idea because it appeared to be mere theoretical speculation without any empirical evidence.
Option A is incorrect because the passage makes it clear that Higgs' idea addressed a theoretical problem already recognized by scientists, rather than a problem that has yet to be realized by them.
Option B is incorrect because the fourth paragraph implies that Higgs' work was rigorous (free from "technical errors") and not problematic at the level of their equations.
Option C is incorrect because the passage never indicates that acceptance of the Higgs field has rendered other, earlier theories in physics obsolete.
Therefore, the author strongly suggests that the reason the scientific community initially rejected Higgs' idea from the given passage is that it appeared to have little empirical basis.
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