The “on’ button to the great atom adventure has finally been pushed, but not without the usual media hype. Indeed, one would be excused for thinking that the speed of news was competing with that of the particles let loose in the Large Hadron Collider for attention.
While some, as a result of this hype are scared stiff that the world will end, the scientists were experiencing the thrill of the “wow” moment. And, one young lady all the way in India took her life out of fear while her country folks were turning out in mass for prayers. Not even the assurance of experts that the world will not come to end is assuring to the many, including loads of narrow minded Christians that the end is here. I am awaiting those door to door evangelists with the somber news of doomsday!
I am, however, interested in the quest for the God particle, though I must confess that the huge sums of money spent on this project could have done heaps of good all over the world. Instead, it has disappeared into a vortex of mysticism. For instance, the Caribbean could do with a good hurricane shield that would have at least directed a couple of those wicked storms towards some other direction. Or even better it could have been used to create a device to funnel the fierce winds in the direction of the Hadron Collider as part of the atom adventure.
But back to the God particle: as scientists strive to look way back into the past for the first time, what difference will it make should the God particle be located? “Particle physics”, we are told, is a modern way of re-framing the age old quest to understand our universe and the laws of nature. But having located this particle and having most of some of these age old questions answered, how would this change the fact that humans continue to act irresponsibly in terms of the care of the earth and in relating with each other?
The team of scientists may have transcended ethnic, national and cultural boundaries, but would the locating of the God particle beam rays of love, justice peace and hope for future generations in world presently spinning out of rhythm? Would it change the way we perceive and do our God-talk? Or would the Divine be merely displaced by CERN, Higgs Boson, and the Hadron Collider?
Perhaps, we can now expect holy pilgrimages to CERN to experience the mysticism of Higgs boson and bow down before the temple of the mighty Hadron Collider or it may just be that the Divine re-appears through the vortex of our big thinking, reducing us to flickering dots!
© copyright Jagessar September 12, 2008The team of scientists may have transcended ethnic, national and cultural boundaries, but would the locating of the God particle beam rays of love, justice peace and hope for future generations in world presently spinning out of rhythm? Would it change the way we perceive and do our God-talk? Or would the Divine be merely displaced by CERN, Higgs Boson, and the Hadron Collider?
Perhaps, we can now expect holy pilgrimages to CERN to experience the mysticism of Higgs boson and bow down before the temple of the mighty Hadron Collider or it may just be that the Divine re-appears through the vortex of our big thinking, reducing us to flickering dots!
