Rolling and Tumbling

I am of two minds about the Large Hadron Collider. My first instinct, as a quantum mechanics wonk and all-round science geek is “WAY COOL!”. I am excited and anticipatory and can’t wait to see the results/read about the science. The other instinct is a little less enthusiastic and tends more towards running around shrieking “Oh my god, we’re all gonna die!” Except that most of the folks trying to convince us all of the second point of view seem to be fundie religious conservatives and UFO abductees and other persons whose intelligence and logic I tend to scoff at in ways both impolite and impolitic. (I love that the scientist is quoted as saying that anyone who thinks the LHC will destroy the earth is a twat.) I have to keep reminding myself that Steven Hawking has given his stamp of approval to this project, and in fact, is waiting to see if it proves a lot of his theories. When we get right down to it, if this science is good enough for Steven Hawking, then it’s good enough for me.

Besides, as a species we tend toward the long-term destruction of the world (global warming, loss of habitat, ozone depletion, over population, food and water inequities among the inhabited areas). Just winking ourselves out by creating a black hole doesn’t really jibe with our modus operandi.

I leave you (hopefully just till the next entry) with this little number: the Hadron Rap. Rock out, physics geeks.