LHC fears: Valid or Silly?

[cynical dreamer]

They really need to make Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World" mandatory reading for adults and children alike. You shouldn't be allowed out of your home or allowed to own a computer without having read Sagan's book first.

They should make you read it and then take a test on it's content and then issue you a license.....

 

[Baldus885]

^Why would the world end today, they haven't even initiated high speed collisions yet?

I think they did. I think we've been sucked into another universe. Luckily, the only difference between this one and the old one is stuff really far away we don't know about. As long as that keeps happening, we'll be fine.

This thread is great - I might not understand this stuff, but it makes fascinating reading.

 

[SeerSGB]

Well if the multiverse/many-worlds (however you want to call it) theory is indeed how the universe and time works, then in another reality the Earth was wiped out yesterday.

Pour a 40 on the curb for our poor dead counterparts.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Awesome Q&A with "rock star scientist" Brian Cox on the BBC website.

At the end, he (predictably) addresses the "end of the world" concerns:

I am in fact immensely irritated by the conspiracy theorists who spread this nonsense around and try to scare people. This non-story is symptomatic of a larger mistrust in science, particularly in the US, which includes intelligent design amongst other things.
The only serious issue is why so many people who don't have the time or inclination to discover for themselves why this stuff is total crap have to be exposed to the opinions of these half-wits.

This is the final blow after four or five paragraphs explaining exactly why there's nothing to worry about.

After doing a lot of reading (from both sides of the argument) and watching a few documentaries on the subject, I've come to the conclusion that it is quite silly to fear the LHC, and for the most part these fears are born out of sheer ignorance or utter (mostly religious) stupidity.

In fact, I'm embarrased about starting the thread in the first place.

The idiots who've been spreading this shite have scared the shit out of of my nieces, and apparently entire classes at the younger one's primary school were crying their eyes out yesterday, because idiotic teachers that had no idea what they were on about decided to have an assembly about it.

 

[zephramc]

Well the LHC has been operational now for more than a day and we're still here. Earth wasn't pulled into a blackhole. Satan and his minions never appeared through any rift.

 

[trekkiedane]

Well the LHC has been operational now for more than a day and we're still here. Earth wasn't pulled into a blackhole. Satan and his minions never appeared through any rift.

Correct, nor will it when they get at chance to start the experiments.

Remember: they're just calibrating the machines at this moment

Anyone else impressed at the speed they got the first beam the whole way 'round? -I had imagined it would take them several days...

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Edit: Bob, Don't you just hate it when teachers try to teach stuff they know nothing about?

 

[Bob The Skutter]

_____________
Edit: Bob, Don't you just hate it when teachers try to teach stuff they know nothing about?

Yeah, I explained to my nieces as best I could what it's actually doing, but they said today a few kids were still worried about it. One of them said she told a boy he should talk to me about it.

I haven't seen this posted here, but when I saw it, I thought of this thread.

http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

 

[trekkiedane]

I tried -in vain- to tell a 60-year-old about the science behind -she just kept giving me this blank stare people get when they decide they won't even try to understand

those web-cams, post the link in the Misc. thread and let us see what happens

 

[Zulu Romeo]

On the other hand, I am a little worried about a resonance cascade...

ah, but this is at CERN in Switzerland, not at the Black Mesa...

Where Gordon Freeman goes, trouble follows. Well as long as they let him push a button...

Actually, now that you mention it, I'm a bit more frightened now...

 

[Longinus]

It is totally natural that people get a bit worried over this. Science behind this thing is something that no average person can truly hope to understand. We just have to take the scientists' word for it. Likening the LHC worriers to some crazy science hating creationists is not really fair. You can explain the theory of evolution to five year old and they probably can grasp the basic concept. Quantum physics? Not so much.

Also, talking about the destruction of the entire world tends to get peoples attention.

Even though I'm fairly confident that LHC is quite safe, I'd still like to know is there a difference between the cosmic rays collisions and the LHC collisions as the Wiki article I linked earlier seems to imply. It is Wiki of course, so it could be total bullshit. However, with my meager understanding of physics, there is no way to tell.

 

[Samurai8472]

Satan and his minions never appeared through any rift.

It's time to either call the Winchester boys or assemble the ghostbusters

 

[diankra]

Satan and his minions never appeared through any rift.

It's time to either call the Winchester boys or assemble the ghostbusters

No need - The Torchwood team have alrady dealt with the problem.

Downloadable as a podcast at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/bigbang/torchwood.shtml

 

[Neroon]

Under the category of "silly":

http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/

http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

 

[Chris_Johnston]

Awwww, Neroon! Passed up a perfect opportunity for some comedy there!
You should've said, "Don't worry, they've got webcams set up..."

 

[James Bond]

Awwww, Neroon! Passed up a perfect opportunity for some comedy there!
You should've said, "Don't worry, they've got webcams set up..."

 

[Brolan]

It's all a cover story for the Fundamentalist Christians. They have a plan to open a rift into Hell and roll a thermonuclear weapon in there.

It will give the phrase "hotter than Hell" a new upgraded meaning.

 

[All Seeing Eye]

It's all a cover story for the Fundamentalist Christians. They have a plan to open a rift into Hell and roll a thermonuclear weapon in there.

Wouldn't that make an awesome movie! scientist accidentally open a portal to hell so they decide to send a nuke down there and replace Lucifer's throne with a crater, vaporise half his minions and give the other half radiation poisoning.

 

[Lookingglassman]

It is silly. I am a christian and believe the Bible, but I am also interested in what this thing will discover over the next coming years. The Bible doesnt say the earth will be gobbled up by a black hole therefore this machine will not destroy us.

 

[Brolan]

It is silly. I am a christian and believe the Bible, but I am also interested in what this thing will discover over the next coming years. The Bible doesnt say the earth will be gobbled up by a black hole therefore this machine will not destroy us.

I don't know. We need to get Satan before he gets us.

 

[Lindley]

Guys, stop stealing the concept for the Stargate SG-1/Diablo II crossover I thought up with my brother three years ago. Damn ninth chevron.