Higgs Boson

One of the recent stories that topped the headlines was the discovery of a Higgs boson-like particle by physicists working at CERN (Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire, or the European Organization for Nuclear Research), using the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. When the announcement was made during a conference of physicists, it was met by applause and cheering that could have rivalled the World Cup finals.

I’m not going to try and explain what the Higgs boson is, nor what it is for, since I am not a physicist (just a frustrated one). However, there are some things that made sense to me as I was reading through the news articles and doing a little research on the side.

1) There is always a reason why something is.
The theory of the Higgs boson came about in the 1960s, when physicists (François Englert and Robert Brout; Peter Higgs; and Gerald Guralnik, C. R. Hagen, and Tom Kibble) came up with a theory that there must be something behind the force that makes fundamental particles interact to form matter. This is what led to the idea that the Higgs boson is the “God particle”, a term coined by Nobel laureate Leon Lederman when he asserted that the discovery of the particle is crucial to a final understanding of what makes up matter.

OK, I actually looked that up in Wikipedia, and tried to summarize it as I understood it. The point is, there must be something that makes things what they are. In this case, it’s what caused the Big Bang to happen, and eventually the universe to become what it is.

I think.

2) Never give up.

Physicists are a very patient lot. For millenia, they have been trying to explain the forces that make up matter. From Thales, Archimedes and the other  Greek philosopher-scientists, to Galileo, Newton and Copernicus, to Einstein, Bohr, Higgs and the modern day physicists of CERN and Fermilab — physicists have pored over data, made calculations and speculated, published their findings, and went back to find out more. In short, they never gave up until they could find the answers to their questions. And there are still many questions left unanswered.

I think.

3) Physics is fascinating. So is Math.

I’ve always wondered why I never excelled in Math or Physics in high school. My mother said that maybe because I don’t like numbers or anything with formulae, so I didn’t put as much effort in understanding mathematical and physical theories as I did when reading poetry or writing short stories (which is why I ended up with degrees in English literature and law, but that’s another story). But now I’m finding out that I may have lost a part of my life by not liking physics.

Sometimes I wonder how my life would be if I had chosen to major in physics. Or mathematics. Or molecular biology and biotechnology. Would it be any different?

Recently I came across a copy of Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. I tried to read it, but couldn’t get past page 10. With the discovery of the Higgs boson, I may just go back to (trying to) read the book again, even if it means having to stop after every 2 pages.

4) Interest in the Higgs boson story can determine if you and the person you like think alike, and could end up happily married.

Nah.