CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

[Armando]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Yeah nothing terrible has ever come of science.

We don't need science to do terrible things. We've been doing it since we've been painting on cave walls.

[Raydeus]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Religion is a human construct created for the sake of profit and power.

Science studies the universe around us and attempts to understand how it works.

Knowledge, any knowledge can be used for good and bad purposes, but the knowledge itself is neither good nor evil. Religion on the other hand relies on ignorance to acquire control over the gullible masses.

And again, there is a FREAKING HUGE difference between Faith and Religion. Personal faith helps us make sense of the world we live in sometimes filling the blanks for things Science hasn't discovered yet or even giving a context for things we already know. Religion on the other hand is just a McDonalds that exploits the faith of the gullible instead of their hunger.

[Taskmage]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

There are some things that aren't meant to be known. Why do we need to know the secrets of life, and the secret to create life? Just for example.

Because that's what all of modern medicine is based on? Unless you think most women are meant to die in childbirth, child mortality from easily treatable bacterial infections is meant to be high, and the flu is meant to be a plague, those secrets are pretty "need to know," for example.

[Feba]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

And in a move that surprises noone, BBQ manages to offend everyone while getting nothing right.

Why do we need to know the secrets of life, and the secret to create life?

To extend what we can do with our own lives, for starters. Imagine how many millions, potentially billions of lives have already been saved by germ theory? Something that simple makes a huge difference in how we live; namely, sanitation, and having that, much longer, healthier lives. Understanding better how the universe works pretty much always leads to some kind of technological innovation, and potential for exploitation; look at the practical uses of radar, lasers, radio for that matter. Microwaves and other various sorts of radiation are extremely useful. Radiation being a great example of the potential here-- dangerous sides, sure, but also a huge energy source, and life saving medical treatment. Genetic engineering is the same; scary, but we're already seeing huge returns on our study there.

For the Higgs itself, though these findings are "consistent" with the particle we've been looking for, doubtlessly further research will clear up not only more information about this particle, but how it affects things around it, which should be very interesting at the least. Also keep in mind that purely the development of the LHC has pushed technology forward, even if the machine had never been powered up. Much like the space program, many of the benefits aren't what they actually do, but the problems they solve while trying to do it.

[Taskmage]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Whatever. Where's my Holodeck and replicator?

Holodecks and replicators are a tangentially related branch of technological development. This is more to do with artificial gravity, warp drive and temporal stasis.

[Murphie]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Could we not Godwin the discussion before the second page?

Oh wait, of course we can't.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Holodecks and replicators are a tangentially related branch of technological development. This is more to do with artificial gravity, warp drive and temporal stasis.

Pessimism leads me to think we may reach the former before the latter. Let's just hope Hawking is wrong about aliens in the meantime, provided there actually are any.

[Raydeus]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Holodecks and replicators are a tangentially related branch of technological development. This is more to do with artificial gravity, warp drive and temporal stasis.

Which is precisely where the whatever comes from. Stop worrying about those things and start working on those glorified 3D printers so I can have awesome games and scenarios and replicated food whenever I want without having to leave the comfort of my home!!

[Taskmage]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Pessimism leads me to think we may reach the former before the latter. Let's just hope Hawking is wrong about aliens in the meantime, provided there actually are any.

I say artificial gravity and warp drive (or something like it) before holodecks and replicators simply because I expect industrial, brute force applications to come before consumerist, fine-grained applications. First room-sized ballistic weapon calculators, then personal computers and further iteration into ipads and whatnot. Temporal stasis was kindof out there.

[Raydeus]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Not necessarily. Considering the huge investment artificial gravity and Warp capabilities would require even for a defense budget (heck they can't even get their "next generation" fighters working) I'm inclined to believe the simulation capabilities of a Holodeck and the production capabilities of replicators would shift the balance towards consumer applications before we start thinking about farming the solar system and beyond in an efficient way. Specially once Oil runs out and if Fusion energy becomes a reality.



PS > Stasis would be awesome though, I'd go to sleep and hope I'm woken up on board the Enterprise. And if I die while asleep then at least I'll have a nice death.

[Etra]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Yeah nothing terrible has ever come of science.

Aside from the Holocaust...

Please explain how one nut job is science's fault.

[Yellow Mage]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

BBQ, wasn't the Holocaust by definition religious persecution?

Takelli . . . just shut up already.

Totally didn't expect anti-intellectuals to be all up-ITT. It's these kinds of attitudes that's blah blah decline blah civilization ramble ramble ramble . . .

[Malacite]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

I can't be the only one who's interested in finding out just what the hell Dark Matter (the fabric of space itself IIRC?) is made of, or the secret to eternal youth (we're supposedly 40 years away from that one) etc. etc.


Science (with proper constraints mind you) FTW.


e.g; Nanomachines that can permanently end all disease as we know it good - Self-aware AI potentially veeeeeery bad >_>

[Ketaru]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Totally didn't expect anti-intellectuals to be all up-ITT. It's these kinds of attitudes that's blah blah decline blah civilization ramble ramble ramble . . .

You didn't expect it. But it rears it's ugly head in the very first reply to the thread.

[Taskmage]

Re: CERN announces new particle discovered. Consistent with the Higgs Boson.

Everything with potential to be good has even more potential to be bad. It's our nature to risk losing all we have for the chance of becoming something greater. That's the romance of scientific progress. Hell, of life. If we did otherwise, we might as well not exist.