The Sound of Science
It would seem the Higgs boson has been found. Alas, my hypothesis that it arises from my germ cells was simultaneously proven false, so it’s not all good news.
Is the discovery of the Higgs particle what Joe Biden would describe as a big . . . deal?
Yes and no. It is a milestone, but not a breakthrough. It is the culmination of an enormous international effort over many years. However, the Higgs particle was predicted to exist by a theory that has passed many precise tests, and so it would have been a shock had it turned out not to exist. Therefore, unless the Higgs is discovered to have unexpected properties, simply finding the Higgs will not unlock any secrets.
This is why one should really only read headlines. It’s the God particle, bro! We now understand the mysteries and origins of the universe. Organized religion will fall. Nations will dissolve. One world harmony is within reach!
Why do journalists — not physicists — call the Higgs particle “the God particle”? It is because Leon Lederman, a Nobel-prize winning physicist, wrote a book in which he wanted to call the Higgs particle the “god-damn particle,” because it was so hard to find. Apparently his publishers thought “God particle” would sell better. So, thanks to the idiocy of publishers, we have to suffer one of the most inane pieces of media hype in history. Does the Higgs have anything to do with how the universe began? No. Is it the holy grail of physics? No. But its discovery is, for those of us interested in particle physics, something to celebrate.
Well, crap, one world harmony will have to wait a little longer. On the other hand, perhaps Lewis, having previously scaled the mountain and now just waiting for the scientists to catch up, already explained it.
Nature means to us whatever we please as the moods select and slur. But everything becomes different when we recognise that Nature is a creature, a created thing, with its own particular tang or flavour. There is no need any longer to select and slur. It is not in her, but in Something far beyond her, that all lines meet and all contrasts are explained.
I’m glad someone else reads NRO. Though, I must admit that I’m really only there for Steyn, Walsh, and (increasingly less so for) Goldberg. Goldberg has some serious wit, but he just spends too much time around statists. He seems more subdued, like a smoked bee.
I also generally like VDH and Charles Cooke. Your statement on Goldberg is perfect.
Forgot VDH. Cooke ise goode too, bute he talkse aboute the EU alote more thane I care. Ande somethinge aboute hise name botherse me.
The term ‘God-particle’ definitely led a lot of people astray. The funniest example of which was a collection of tweets from religious nutters amounting to ‘God particle discover. Take that atheists’. But that’s the problem with getting your science from mainstream media, you get a diluted, distorted and sugared up version of the contents of the research the articles based on. Always look at the original sources.
“But that’s the problem with getting your science from mainstream media, you get a diluted, distorted and sugared up version of the contents of the research the articles based on. Always look at the original sources.”
Truth.
Nice article.