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]

No. I am and stay sad, because there could be so much flight of fancy in what happened, and we got instead something that sounds like they just discovered a new, smaller gnat.
The poem completely misses the key point of the Higgs boson, namely that if it hadn't been there we would have to throw away half of the physics we have. This is not a victory for experimental science: it's a triumph of theory, of the power of the mind.
I'm sorry, but I can't care for a poem, when its subject matter so upsets me. In light of the current, ongoing attacks on science and science education (they had an op-ed on the NYT advocating making algebra non mandatory) comparing a fantastic scientific discovery to superstition is more than I can tolerate.

At least Updike's poem reflected current status of physics when written (neutrinos in 1960 were pretty new, and they're still mysterious).

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, that article in the NYT. I can understand not requiring calculus, but algebra? It's not esoteric - it's what allows us to frame and solve mathematical problems of all kinds in everyday life.

And I agree with you - I'm not a physicist, but the end of that poem pissed me off.

[lovelythings]

Well, I have to say that that poem was written by an English professor who's not a scientist, and I'd also like to posit that it does take a certain kind of faith to keep looking and keep doing experiments in hopes of proving the existence of something like this. I don't think it was intended to belittle the science, just to illustrate the wonder of a lay person at the perseverance of scientists.

Also, I think he had a certain number of vocabulary words to slip into this poem.

[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.

[topaz_eyes]

(Icon is pointed at the algebra op-ed.)

they had an op-ed on the NYT advocating making algebra non mandatory

I showed this "op-ed" to my daughter. She wants to study pure mathematics in university. "Appalled" doesn't begin to describe her reaction. Her first comment was along flywoman's lines, that algebra underpins everything--every time you need to solve a problem, in any field, you use algebra even if you don't realize it. Her next comment was that it smacks of a "Algebra's too HAAAARD! Let's get rid of it!" dumbing-down mentality.

(Another sign of the times of the War on Math: she's having huge trouble trying to find universities hosting a pure math program. Schools are dropping pure math in droves to focus on "applied" math, e.g. math for business/finance, statistics etc. We fear for the state of knowledge.)

[damigella]

Feel free to PM me, here or on lj, if your daughter (or you) wants input from a professional (I don't have any maths icon on dw except for this truncated dodecahedron).

[peoppenheimer]

Unlike damigella, I am not a mathematician, but if your daughter knows that she has a particular interest in mathematical logic, I might have some useful suggestions.

I'm a little puzzled, though. At the undergraduate level, most math departments I'm familiar with include plenty of pure math in their curriculum. Are we talking about finding a graduate program?

In any case, hearing about someone who is going to become a mathematician always brightens my day. Please convey my best wishes to her.