(no subject)

[davywavy]

Anyone watching the development of the Large Hadron Collider may have come across an interesting little snippet. People involved in a mixture of high-end maths and scaremongering have come up up with the idea that when the machine is turned on there is a very small but finite chance that it will create Earth-destroying Black Holes.

I don't know about you, but turning on a potential world-destroying machine would give me some pause for thought - after all, I don't want to see the world destroyed. It's where I keep all my stuff.
[Poll #1156045]

Comments

[drplokta]

Only a million dollars. What about inflation? You can't even buy one giant city-destroying mecha-warrior-droid for a measly million dollars.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

You can from Budget Renta-mech ("Devastation for the parsimonious despot"), but it must be said their quality ain't great.

[(Anonymous)]

Reading the article, there's a fair chance it could just destroy France. Fingers crossed!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Everyone's a winner!

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

None of your readers have any kind of moral conscience. I know this, I am one.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I despir of them, I really do.

[madwitch.livejournal.com]

Because it seems they'll settle for one million dollars? I see your point.

Whilst I'll happily take it, I think we could get more.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Let the bidding begin!

[rssefuirosu.livejournal.com]

Roll on the apocralypse, I'd do it for free!

About time I got to work :p

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

The aROCKalypse, surely?

[rssefuirosu.livejournal.com]

Yo damn shibby!

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

thing is if it ever did happen it would all be over so quickly youd never have time for things like pain, guilt, or anyone else being able to go 'you muppet!'. So on with the show :-)

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Alas, no. The LHC would create tiny black holes which would fall to the centre of the Earth and slowly eat it out from within, giving us all some time to spend kicking you in the knackers and so forth.

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

that's ok then, at least we'd get some data!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

"How many times can we kick Andy in the knackers before the end of the world?"

Now that's what I call science.

Of Course.....

[blue-cat.livejournal.com]

My answer is based on the fact that if I got to the position where a group of people had given me the button pressing duty then I would be either be a person who understand fully the implications, reality and maths behind the science and be fully aware of the minute chance of black-hole ness etc or be someone who had been wheeled in as a figure head and have not a fucking clue but be photogenic for the cameras.

either way I would press the damn button!

[zenmeisterin.livejournal.com]

Why is this not a tickybox question? Why must we choose only one?

I demand a recount!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Under the circumstances of destroy world/pause, you want more than one choice?

[rssefuirosu.livejournal.com]

...cake?

[zenmeisterin.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes I do. Demand a meeellion dollars and press the button anyway ;-)

[Insert evil laugh HERE]

[song-of-copper.livejournal.com]

Ooh, me pressy-pressy big, red, shiny-shiny, buttony-, er, button!!!

Maybe one could accept the million bucks, have a lovely time spending it all and then press the button anyway.

That's what I'd do, if I was an amoral villainous type, willing to hold the world to ransom...

...er, I take cheques. ;-)

[lexx-uk.livejournal.com]

I think the bigger worry is Strangelets and the formation of these lovely sub atomic particals.

Just one Stranglet could convert us all to strange matter!

I love the following:

R = P * C

Where R = The risk in dollers P = probability that a strangelet will be formed and C = the cost of the destruction of the planet.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Just one Stranglet could convert us all to strange matter

Looking at my friends list, I have to wonder how you'd be able to tell.

[lexx-uk.livejournal.com]

I don't think that strange matter or being converted to it is a fun and amusing as you think...........Your friends list would look like the inside of a Quark-nova :)(And befor you reply that is not a vauxhall for Ferengi)

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

why is it that this blog continually has me almost choking to death on my coffee!?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Because I'm the funniest fellow in Christendom?

I think St Drogo takes that award!

[lexx-uk.livejournal.com]

Saint Drogo (1105-1185), a Flemish nobleman who was reportedly able to bilocate, maintaining his presence in two locations at once. Witnesses claimed seeing Drogo working in fields simultaneously, and going to mass every Sunday. He is the patron saint of coffee and coffeehouses. (He’s also the patron saint of those whom others find unspeakably repulsive)

Re: I think St Drogo takes that award!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Tsk! Papal Bull of 1594 rescinded his sainthood after Galileo, as cleverest man of his day, conclusively proved that Drogo was just a pair of identical twins on the make.

Re: I think St Drogo takes that award!

[lexx-uk.livejournal.com]

I belive he is still acknowledged infact on April 16th it is his feast. Your just bitter you got pipped into second :P

So folks remeber April 16th is the Feast of those whom others find unspeakably repulsive :)

Re: I think St Drogo takes that award!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Are you flagging up your birthday, hmn?

Re: I think St Drogo takes that award!

[lexx-uk.livejournal.com]

Sadly not I was born on the day of the feast of St. Adalbert (Vojtěch) the patron saint of Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, and Prussia.

I just think in this day of equal rights more people should be aware of the Feast of the Unspeakably repulsive and learn from the story of noble Saint Drogo............

Well maybe not as they bricked him up for 40 years for being unspeakably repulsive......yet fear not as his secret Catholic power was bilocation, thus he could be down the pub at the same time :)

[applez.livejournal.com]

I like how Neil DeGrasse Tyson described this 'black hole' theory. The energy levels that the LHC would generate are only a small fraction of the energy hitting us as cosmic rays every day. :-)

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Hush! You're spoiling the scaremongering!

[applez.livejournal.com]

Clearly misdirected scaremongering - they should blackmail more leaders for research budgets! ;-)

[applez.livejournal.com]

Actually, one of the more amusing problems they're dealing with, with the LHC, is the effect of magnetic forces on surface villages far above the experimental complex. I don't know that it's strong enough to bend structural steel or suck toasters to the floor, but apparently it will disrupt television signals a bit.

and the point is?

[(Anonymous)]

Right, read the puff piece & the scaremongering. Now can one of you scientists explain to a Humanities Graduate why we are doing this? I follow:

a) It will go BANG and we can all shout dackadackadacka as these proton thingies bash in to each other (which is good).

b) The Yankie pigdogs haven't got one (which is better);

however, on the cost/benefit analysis I note an infinitessimally small chance that we will all be turned inside out. Is there another reason to press the button?

D

Re: and the point is?

[(Anonymous)]

because we can.

H

Re: and the point is?

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

And I bet you've never even heard of GlaDOS.

Re: and the point is?

[(Anonymous)]

Is it an air freshener?

Re: and the point is?

[(Anonymous)]

I can find no logical flaw in your premise.

D

[vanderath.livejournal.com]

mmm buttons...

[ddraiggwyrdd.livejournal.com]

What would DrWho do?

[fonnparr.livejournal.com]

http://xkcd.com/401/