I am mightily impressed with the Large Hadron Collider. To build such a complex mechanical machine that stretches for miles and to turn it on and have it work boggles my mind. Sometimes I despair at the human race and sometimes I am overjoyed. This is an instance of the latter.
I asked a workmate about it and he sniffed and said something to the effect of it being a “waste of money” that would be better spend on “humanitarian efforts”. Here’s the deal. If we balked at scientific progress that didn’t seem to have an on-the-face-of-it practical application then I don’t think we would have a world close to what we have today.
The word “science” comes from “knowledge” or “to know”. Progress that may seem useful may turnout to be very useful indeed. Computers operate on the principles of solid state physics. Would the pioneers of that field have predicted computers and the way that they have changed the world?
Nothing helps cure misery and elevates human problems than science and technology. This is why I hate creationism so much because they invariably spit on this beautiful methodology. The scientific method is the greatest human creation ever.
Speaking of which:
Listen to this podcast for good info on the LHC.
http://www.theskepticsguide.org/skepticsguide/podcastinfo.asp?pid=164
The "big picture" feature has some great pictures of this human achievement:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/the_large_hadron_collider.html
