4 ms·

The Large Hadron Collider sets its sights on dark matter

60 points by kurren 12y ago

300bps 12y ago
A thought provoking article in a recent issue of Scientific American states that a troubling issue is what the LHC has not found yet. Namely, supersymmetry pairs for Standard Model particles. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/supersymmetry-and-the-crisis-in-physics/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/supersymmetry-and-... It's behind a paywall apparently (I have a subscription) so here's an evaluation of the article with many snippets: http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=6836 http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=6836
- kowdermeister 12y ago
  Not finding things in science is also progress.
- Create 12y ago
  The only reason it is troubling is, that entire careers are based on it, without the slightest spec of evidence. Since decades.
joshbaptiste 12y ago
Even if you aren't necessarily into Physics there is a great documentary called "Particle Fever" (also on Netflix) which has documented the Higgs particle discovery and the general purpose of the LHC.
- Create 12y ago
  Have you ever wondered how the media work and why some topics make it into the news and other don't? Special Seminar: How to deal with the media: maximising opportunity and minimising threat / Pryce-Jones, Jessica (speaker) (Managing Director of the consultancy iOpener Ltd) ; Pillai, Nisha (speaker) (news anchor for BBC World) This session will cover how to work effectively with the media including print, radio and TV. You'll get an insight into how journalists and news rooms operate and what they would like from you [...] http://cds.cern.ch/record/1127343 http://cds.cern.ch/record/1127343 Propaganda.
  - macspoofing 12y ago
    I don't see a problem. I think a little training for dealing with media is a good thing.
    - Create 12y ago
      Most reporters are lazy or pressed for time or both and don't fact-check. This has been a problem for some time. Many articles are also generated by software or thrown together by minimum wage workers to generate clicks. This has also been a problem for some time. As a consumer of news, you always have to keep that in the back of your mind when you read news. iOpener, Auntie.
artur_makly 12y ago
forgive my naiveté.. but can someone explain to me why we are spending SO much $ and neurons on such projects rather than our impending ecological doom? Honestly i dont care if super symmetry or multi-universe exists. It's becoming as absurd as ...almost as religion itself. Enough is enough. The hard problems to really solve are all around us now and in the very near future ( as it always has been ) .. The joke will be on us when some scientists in his cave screams AHA i've found "IT"! and sadly discovers that no one is left in existence to even hear it. But different strokes for diff folks no?
- visakanv 12y ago
  Sure, I'll give it a shot. 1: It's not that much $ and neurons, actually. We spend far more marketing lipstick and selling mobile games. If your priority is to reduce wasted spending, there are far worse candidates. 2: Original science and research has consistently yielded some of the biggest game-changers in technology (and subsequently, human well-being) than anything else. Libraries, electricity, the Internet, all of those felt like frivolous indulgences when they were starting out. 3: Projects like these are exploratory, which makes them inspiring. People are curious and eager to learn. This puts a pressure on the educational pipeline. People become scientists to learn answers to these questions. They use these skillsets for other things as well. I recommend listening to Neil Tyson talking about space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUbOjZWjTLU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUbOjZWjTLU I agree that our impending ecological doom is an issue. If you want to get into the psychology of it- people simply don't feel the pinch yet. It seems vague, distant, something we can't do very much about. It's the same reason people tend to be bad at planning for their retirements. That said, the world is a better place with the LHC than not. There are far worse things we spend our $ and neurons on that we ought to cull first!
  - artur_makly 12y ago
    thanks for those points. "impending ecological doom is an issue" - best case a rounding statistical error - that will pass, no big woop. - Worst case. jokes on us. yes some serious culling is needed but on both sides of the spectrum. We must be very careful how our tiny scientific community applies itself these days too. I just watched the video, Tyson makes some nice points. I agree that we should invest in dreaming about tomorrow... but i feel that tomorrow's science and today's scientific neurons should be applied more pragmatically. ( perhaps since ive just become a dad..our PRESENT reality just got way way bigger) I'd rather hear 2-yrs from now about a new unlimited energy source with 0 emissions than us landing on Jupiter's moon. "Jesus is coming..look busy people".
visakanv 12y ago
The word-nerd in me can't help but be amused at the use of "set its sights" on something that technically can't be seen. I wonder if it was intended. Probably not.

60 points by kurren 12y ago

A thought provoking article in a recent issue of Scientific American states that a troubling issue is what the LHC has not found yet. Namely, supersymmetry pairs for Standard Model particles. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/supersymmetry-and-the-crisis-in-physics/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/supersymmetry-and-... It's behind a paywall apparently (I have a subscription) so here's an evaluation of the article with many snippets: http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=6836 http://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=6836

kowdermeister 12y ago
Not finding things in science is also progress.
Create 12y ago
The only reason it is troubling is, that entire careers are based on it, without the slightest spec of evidence. Since decades.

joshbaptiste 12y ago

Even if you aren't necessarily into Physics there is a great documentary called "Particle Fever" (also on Netflix) which has documented the Higgs particle discovery and the general purpose of the LHC.

Create 12y ago
Have you ever wondered how the media work and why some topics make it into the news and other don't? Special Seminar: How to deal with the media: maximising opportunity and minimising threat / Pryce-Jones, Jessica (speaker) (Managing Director of the consultancy iOpener Ltd) ; Pillai, Nisha (speaker) (news anchor for BBC World) This session will cover how to work effectively with the media including print, radio and TV. You'll get an insight into how journalists and news rooms operate and what they would like from you [...] http://cds.cern.ch/record/1127343 http://cds.cern.ch/record/1127343 Propaganda.
- macspoofing 12y ago
  I don't see a problem. I think a little training for dealing with media is a good thing.
  - Create 12y ago
    Most reporters are lazy or pressed for time or both and don't fact-check. This has been a problem for some time. Many articles are also generated by software or thrown together by minimum wage workers to generate clicks. This has also been a problem for some time. As a consumer of news, you always have to keep that in the back of your mind when you read news. iOpener, Auntie.

artur_makly 12y ago

forgive my naiveté.. but can someone explain to me why we are spending SO much $ and neurons on such projects rather than our impending ecological doom? Honestly i dont care if super symmetry or multi-universe exists. It's becoming as absurd as ...almost as religion itself. Enough is enough. The hard problems to really solve are all around us now and in the very near future ( as it always has been ) .. The joke will be on us when some scientists in his cave screams AHA i've found "IT"! and sadly discovers that no one is left in existence to even hear it. But different strokes for diff folks no?

visakanv 12y ago
Sure, I'll give it a shot. 1: It's not that much $ and neurons, actually. We spend far more marketing lipstick and selling mobile games. If your priority is to reduce wasted spending, there are far worse candidates. 2: Original science and research has consistently yielded some of the biggest game-changers in technology (and subsequently, human well-being) than anything else. Libraries, electricity, the Internet, all of those felt like frivolous indulgences when they were starting out. 3: Projects like these are exploratory, which makes them inspiring. People are curious and eager to learn. This puts a pressure on the educational pipeline. People become scientists to learn answers to these questions. They use these skillsets for other things as well. I recommend listening to Neil Tyson talking about space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUbOjZWjTLU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUbOjZWjTLU I agree that our impending ecological doom is an issue. If you want to get into the psychology of it- people simply don't feel the pinch yet. It seems vague, distant, something we can't do very much about. It's the same reason people tend to be bad at planning for their retirements. That said, the world is a better place with the LHC than not. There are far worse things we spend our $ and neurons on that we ought to cull first!
- artur_makly 12y ago
  thanks for those points. "impending ecological doom is an issue" - best case a rounding statistical error - that will pass, no big woop. - Worst case. jokes on us. yes some serious culling is needed but on both sides of the spectrum. We must be very careful how our tiny scientific community applies itself these days too. I just watched the video, Tyson makes some nice points. I agree that we should invest in dreaming about tomorrow... but i feel that tomorrow's science and today's scientific neurons should be applied more pragmatically. ( perhaps since ive just become a dad..our PRESENT reality just got way way bigger) I'd rather hear 2-yrs from now about a new unlimited energy source with 0 emissions than us landing on Jupiter's moon. "Jesus is coming..look busy people".

visakanv 12y ago

The word-nerd in me can't help but be amused at the use of "set its sights" on something that technically can't be seen. I wonder if it was intended. Probably not.