’Tis the season! I don’t know where you’re at: loving the holidays, shaking your head with cynicism regarding the foibles of man, or just hoping you get a surprise gift this year - like a new Lexus in your driveway on Christmas morning.
Six years ago,science made a huge discovery. Eminent physicist Peter Higgs discovered “The God Particle.” His finding, for which he won a ton of awards and recognition, was supposed to be proof of the beginning of everything. The very spark at which life and the universe began. It was named The God Particle for that reason. I feel safe saying this:
No one is going to find the definitive proof of the beginnings of our universe anytime soon.
I found more than 1000 articles detailing every kind of story, opinion, news report and scientific datum detailing the Higgs boson particle (nicknamed “The God Particle” - a little presumptuously) and the work of the esteemed Mr. Higgs.
Scientists used the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland to smash protons and electrons together on a 17-mile track that winds around underground like a giant roller coaster. It will re-open in 2015, and people again fear that experimenting with the basics of particle physics might create a giant black hole. Some say it’s the work of Satan. I call it expensive: more than $11 billion spent so far, including the 2-year-long repair effort that is ongoing. But who’s counting?
Here’s the deal: science is obsessed with truth. That’s a really good thing. It’s also obsessed with DEFINITIVE proof, which is even better. All science is theory until there is irrefutable proof that makes it a fact. Science has been searching for the elusive spark of life, the beginnings of the universe since… well, since forever.
The search is going to continue. Because the best minds on the planet disseminate information from experiments like the Higgs boson and Large Hadron Collider project, looking for the origins of mass, looking to shine a little light on what is known as “dark matter,” uncovering symmetries of space and so on. I say go for it! Because inevitably what real science finds is a lot more stuff which needs to be proven or disproven.
Want examples? Astronomers keep finding new planets and what they think might be other universes 130-million light years away or so. This year alone there were discoveries of a new species of dolphin, a tiny shrew and, as with the past five years, a new breed of Gecko on the planet. There were no hurricanes smacking into the USA this year, an anomaly for sure. Call me a conspiracy fanatic if you want to, but there has to be a correlation between all that and the fact the GOP took over the Senate to go along with their majority in the House of Representatives, plus the continued success of rapper Pitbull. It’s all related people! And I have proof!
There is a window directly above the kitchen sink at our house in New Jersey. I often look out into the night sky as I’m doing dishes for my wife (yes, on occasion I do!). Since the beginning of this December, every time I flick the switch for the garbage disposal, a star called Centauri blinks off. I flick the switch again, the star blinks back on!
Coincidence? I DO NOT BELIEVE IN COINCIDENCE! Especially at Christmas, when a star has so much meaning for the planet celebrating a holiday (Holy Day) based on the original “God Particle,” if you will. So I Google “Gecko Insurance” on my iPad, and the Gecko appears on the screen, but then his head elongates right out of the machine, comes within a millimeter of my nose and loudly snaps from too much tension. The screen goes blank, a tiny green ball careens around the room until it disappears into a book on the shelf. I grab the book - it’s the Bible! And then it hits me!
Even if they find what they’re looking for, how is science going to explain these basic questions:
- What created the God Particle?
- What gave it the power to create mass?
- Since the planet is getting cooler, does that mean Global Warming is a hoax?
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Taylor