Monday and a Whimsical Poem About the Higgs Boson

[nightdog_barks]

Watching the Olympics, wondering if Mitt Romney is telling Polish jokes in Poland. I wouldn't put it past him, not after his assholish behavior in Israel, where he managed to insult both Israelis and Palestinians in one stupid speech. And there are actually people thinking about voting for this dipshit, just because he's not black Obama.

OH WAIT I AM ON MY HIGH HORSE AGAIN.

Let's calm down. The new issue of The New Yorker came today, so here's a small poem about the Higgs boson. :D

The Evidence of Things Not Seen

How strong the lens, how keen the eyes
To see what we hypothesize,
To watch so small a thing in motion
As what we've christened the "Higgs boson,"
A tiny, massive thing that passes
For what can best explain the masses
Of other things we cannot see
But somehow, nonetheless, must be.
A thing so small is surely cute,
Though weirdly shaped, perhaps hirsute,
And just as real as any wraith
Imagined with the eyes of faith.


~ Jay Curlin
From The New Yorker, July 30th, 2012

Comments

[damigella]

it does take a certain kind of faith
Actually, it doesn't. But it is true that this might not be clear to the layperson, due to the current standards of science education.

[lovelythings]

I'll put it another way that will perhaps make more sense: it takes perserverance to believe that this time, when you turn on the LHC, you'll find the Higgs boson, despite not finding it all the previous times. Or this combination of drugs will stop that virus, when 200 other combinations haven't. Or this variant of this crop will be resistant to a particular disease, when all the previous crops succumbed. I think there are days when it takes more than a love of science to overcome the wearying effect of negative results. Some might call that faith. I'm not calling it religious faith, mind you, but a kind of faith (although I happen to know that the person who wrote that poem is a person of faith, in addition to not being a scientist).

As a teacher, I have to agree that science education standards (in the U.S., which is mostly what I can speak for - I taught in a French school but never experienced the science curriculum) are lacking. Perhaps the implementation of the Common Core standards will help us create thoughtful, innovative, dedicated scientists again.