Urban Decay: Exploring an old abandoned particle collider facility • Hacker News Board

Re: Urban Decay: Exploring an old abandoned particle collider facility

#31

Post by khafra » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 2:38 PM UTC

d2 wrote: post #12

tzs wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of game changing things are you thinking of? Colliders help us learn what model is correct (or rather let us eliminate incorrect models) of very low level physics. We don't remotely have any technology to do anything with physics at that low a level, so isn't knowing which model may be correct pretty much going to remain of theoretical and philosophical interest only? It's good to figure that out, but it is…

What an absurd comment. Newtonian physics seemed sufficient and special and general relativity seemed academic until we applied them both to build GPS. You stand on the giant shoulders of theoretical physicists from the moment you open your eyes every morning. How dare you deny them any available tool to continue to keep you in the style to which you've become accustomed. All the applied research and aerospace progra…

Bear in mind that investment in space was also pretty important for the development of GPS.

Re: Urban Decay: Exploring an old abandoned particle collider facility

#32

Post by tzs » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 3:58 PM UTC

perlgeek wrote: post #26

rhaygood wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The death of the SSC kept me out of particle physics. I was thinking of becoming a theoretical particle physicist, but I'm skeptical of doing theory without frequent input from experiments - it may be mathematically elegant, but it may well not be physics. I eventually went into biology, where there's more data of some kinds than we know what to do with, albeit other kinds of data we'd like are still hard to come by.

> but I'm skeptical of doing theory without frequent input from experiments - it may be mathematically elegant, but it may well not be physics. Sad that you didn't chose the path of science - we need more people with that healthy scepticism.

Biology is not science?

Re: Urban Decay: Exploring an old abandoned particle collider facility

#33

Post by derleth » Thu, Mar 31, 2011, 11:20 PM UTC

d2 wrote: post #12

tzs wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of game changing things are you thinking of? Colliders help us learn what model is correct (or rather let us eliminate incorrect models) of very low level physics. We don't remotely have any technology to do anything with physics at that low a level, so isn't knowing which model may be correct pretty much going to remain of theoretical and philosophical interest only? It's good to figure that out, but it is…

What an absurd comment. Newtonian physics seemed sufficient and special and general relativity seemed academic until we applied them both to build GPS. You stand on the giant shoulders of theoretical physicists from the moment you open your eyes every morning. How dare you deny them any available tool to continue to keep you in the style to which you've become accustomed. All the applied research and aerospace progra…

> How dare you deny them any available tool to continue to keep you in the style to which you've become accustomed.

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be pushed back by scientists with particle accelerators. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for the funding, and you curse the Higgs boson. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the funding's expense, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while nerdy and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me pushing on that wall, you need me pushing on that wall. We use words like spin, fermions, color. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent figuring out something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very theory that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a textbook, and learn some theory. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.