[LINK] The Problem with Higgs Boson - Was Balance the enemy of facts

[Richard Chirgwin]

Tom - I wasn't disputing that there is a scientific controversy about 
the existence of the Higgs Boson.

However, I don't need to enumerate all possible models of the universe 
and throw in a couple of HB deniers in a news story, when the "news" is 
the reporting of the facts of an experimental result.

(Noting that the experiment didn't identify the HB, but merely refined 
the range of possible energies at which it may exist)

RC

On 21/10/11 1:57 PM, Tom Koltai wrote:
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au
>> [mailto:link-bounces at mailman.anu.edu.au] On Behalf Of Richard Chirgwin
>> Sent: Friday, 21 October 2011 9:27 AM
>> To: link at mailman.anu.edu.au
>> Subject: Re: [LINK] Balance the enemy of facts (was Re: Jobs
>> not all bad)
>>
>>
>> Actually, I can offer an answer to this: just write the
>> science straight.
>>
>> I can't say too much about the business secrets of The
>> Register, but a
>> story about the Higgs Boson experiments at CERN went well into
>> six-figures for hits in about two days. No fake controversy required.
>>
> That could be because for the last 10,000 years, mankind has gone to war
> in defence of their chosen deity.
>
> For the Deity to turn into a member of the Periodic table is unthinkable
> for well over 5/6's of the worlds population. (I'm estimating 1 billion
> informed educated people that understand the psychological nature of the
> need for sentient beings to have an ever after belief system. - But I'm
> including China in those stats.)
>
> Therefore the basis of interest in the CERN experiments is undoubtedly
> the most fundamental controversy of all time.
>
> It is therefore natural for a large amount of neck craning when the
> validity of various belief systems several millennia old are about to be
> possibly disproved.
>
> TomK
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