QOTD, Scientist RE: Doomsday, There (may) be Dragons

Perhaps you have heard of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) operated by European Center for Nuclear Research or NAMBLA, err I mean CERN.

For those of you who haven't. Its a monstrous 8 Billion dollar machine outside Geneva, constructed for the purpose of smashing tiny particles into each other at unbelievable levels of energy and speed to recreate conditions a trillionth of a second after the Big Bang.

Why, well to do science requires observation. We cannot exactly observe that instant back in time, so why not recreate it.

The problem is, a couple of people think its a really, really bad idea. The kind of idea that could end life as we know it on earth, either through the production of stranglets or a micro black hole that could swallow us all. Walter L. Wagner and Luis Sancho feel so strongly that they are suing CERN in Hawaii asking for "a temporary restraining order prohibiting CERN from proceeding with the accelerator until it has produced a safety report and an environmental assessment."

Why Hawaii has any jurisdiction over an international science organization in Switzerland, is anybody's guess.

All of this is reported in today's NYTimes and covered by Slashdot and various Tech rags. And leads us directly to The QUOTE OF THE DAY:

Dr. Arkani-Hamed said concerning worries about the death of the Earth or universe, “Neither has any merit.” He pointed out that because of the dice-throwing nature of quantum physics, there was some probability of almost anything happening. There is some minuscule probability, he said, “the Large Hadron Collider might make dragons that might eat us up.”

When are they planning on firing this thing up? I want to be ready, my suit of armor is still out being repaired.

Strip courtesy of http://www.xkcd.com

CERN has a page dedicated to these concerns. They get second place for Quote of the Day with this.

Microscopic black holes will not eat you...

MrCopilot

Happy Darwin Day Chuck

09-02-12)On 12 February 1809 in Shropshire England a man was born who would change the way we look at the world. 51 ears later he published a book that attempted to explain the diversity of life on this planet. His theory would lay the foundation for modern biology and pave the way for whole new fields of science and study.

That man was Charles Darwin and today marks Charles Darwin's 199th birthday. 149 years after the publication of Origin of a Species being critically examined and studied. His ideas were controversial in his day, because they were in opposition to religious teachings on the origins of man. Darwin's theory has become a scientifically accepted explanation. But, there are still some who doubt the veracity of Natural Selection and Mutation known collectively as Evolutionary Theory, more often than not for the same reasons as it was disputed 149 years ago. If you believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible or the Quran, Evolution cannot be true. Many that hold this view actively try to discredit Darwin and Evolution in a variety of ways, unsuccessfully in most cases.

On this day we celebrate Darwin as a man and as a scientist. He spent many years travelling the globe, gathering data, and studying animals both in the wild and in the flesh and bone. He built his work on the facts and was not influenced by popular opinion. In essence he was a scientist without parallel.

Suggested Activities for Darwin Day

Read or Re-Read Darwin's works.
Downloads at Project Gutenberg including On the Origins Of Species
Read Online @ The complete works of Charles Darwin

Watch The PBS Nova Special on Darwin.
Google Video Link


Find out why Darwin still matters.
An essay by Biologist Richard Dawkins

Fight Back against the anti Evolutionist use social networks like Digg! and promote evolution stories. Here are two submissions from me, If you find more submit them.
Evolution Just A Theory?
A Respectable man with a Dangerous Idea

Digg Search
Reddit Search

Watch Kenneth Miller destroy Intelligent Design.

Happy Darwin Day.

MrCopilot

Evolution Just a Theory?

In a recent discussion on life the universe and everything, the topic of evolution and Darwin came up as it always does. When the conversation stopped me in my tracks with this statement that I'm sure we all have heard.

"Well, evolution is just a theory."

This is the problem with the English language, there just aren't enough words. Sometimes we have to share them with other "common" meanings.

This statement coming from an intelligent person whom I respect and care for affected me more than I had expected. Upon further consideration, I decided this is not just one person's misconception, it must be widespread even in people under no religious pressure whatsoever. I set about to enlighten as many people as possible to the problem with the following article.

Terms used in an intelligent debate require mutual understanding for the conversation to have any value to both parties. In any discussion on evolution a certain phrase comes up in which there appears not to be mutual understanding. That phrase is "Evolution is only a theory." or "Evolution is just one theory." Intelligent Design proponents toot this horn as often as they can. In some cases deliberately misunderstanding the meaning of the word theory to bolster their argument to an undereducated public. Webster's online dictionary has no less than six definitions for the word theory.

Read More @ Yahoo Voices

I hope I have helped in some small way with this contribution. Now we all have a nice place to link to whenever this comes up again.


MrCopilot