lhc etc

Submitted by Mohammed Waza Khiddif Id'ullah (Australia), May 31, 2015 at 06:52

"..He said that, contrary to your statement, the LHC by and large affirmed the "Standard Model"

OK, but they are on the verge of re-starting the upgraded LHC again and expecting some mindblowing discoveries. The wikipedia article basically states that the standard model is just the most popular model that ticks a lot of boxes - but is still severely deficient in covering many things - such as dark matter and dark energy. Something that accounts for at least 70% of the known universe needs a good explanation.

"....it does leave some phenomena unexplained and it falls short of being a complete theory of fundamental interactions. It does not incorporate the full theory of gravitation^[3] as described by general relativity, or account for the accelerating expansion of the universe (as possibly described by dark energy). The model does not contain any viable dark matter particle that possesses all of the required properties deduced from observational cosmology."

That's a big list of some very hefty subjects.

"..Stephen Hawking, for instance, might be considered as something like a false prophet, in suggesting that we can solve the problem of planet earth's impending self-destruction by colonizing space."

He's struck me like that as well for a long time. His 'edge' is his maths and theories and probably finds it hard to give them up and adopt a totally new paradigm. It must be that certain things are unknowable to the human intellect. Things so vast and awesome that it is impossible for us to understand.

"..Unless Mr. Obama somehow becomes "President for Life", which I doubt will happen,.."

I threw those names in there facetiously. No doubt Mr. Obama will be farming himself out to the $100,000 an hour lecture circuit when he loses his current employment.

".., false hopes in men's hearts that government leaders and scientists can protect them against plagues and calamities. .."

Scientists ( a.k.a. ordinary people studying phenomena of one sort or another) can discover penicillin, methods of icreasing food production, create new tech wizardry etc. which does make life better and easier for billions . But they do not solve each individuals need for achieving peace of mind. And certainly do not answer any fundamental ontological questions. Any who say they can are massively deluded.

"...The Ponzis and Hitlers, Hirohitos and Bin Ladens of this world, who ply their craft in times of both great distress and great prosperity. We need to know that these fellows will be coming out of the woodwork in our days;.."

(You left mohammed out of that list, quite unintentionally no doubt). Certainly. It's just logical no external human agency can create any change inside YOU. It's almost funny how so many people eagerly flock so mindlessly from the last 'next best thing' to the latest one - without taking any consideration for where they're likely going or what they want to achieve. Few seem to ask - what can Mr. X or Ms Y do fundamentally for who I am - how I relate to myself?

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".