Suicide Over 'Big Bang Machine' Fears

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2008-09-11 04:02am

Maybe what CERN should do, is run several collision tests. Then months later, and many tests and data taking later, they quietly announce, "So we did some tests, and if you are hearing this message, then the world has not ended."

salm · Post by **salm** » 2008-09-11 06:55am

Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:Maybe what CERN should do, is run several collision tests. Then months later, and many tests and data taking later, they quietly announce, "So we did some tests, and if you are hearing this message, then the world has not ended."

Nah, this is way too good advertisment for phyiscs and science in general to let it slip just because of a couple of dumbasses.

Ender · Post by **Ender** » 2008-09-11 09:09am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
Ender wrote:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indi ... 467519.cms
I ask you guys as a friend to not go through with the upcoming test in, I think you guys said in October or November. I am frightened the world could get blown up, JUST like the person who is shown on the web link I have placed above my worry-message.
I ask as a good friend to you, and a citizen of the USA, please cancel the scheduled plan of the upcoming test. I beg of you all, as a friend. Please ?
A new friend,
Kyle
P.S.
God bless
Dear Kyle,

No.

P.S.
See you on the other side of oblivion!

The folks at CERN

Ok, I just used this to finally reply to one (I've easily gotten over 100 this summer).

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2008-09-11 12:06pm

salm wrote:
Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:Maybe what CERN should do, is run several collision tests. Then months later, and many tests and data taking later, they quietly announce, "So we did some tests, and if you are hearing this message, then the world has not ended."
Nah, this is way too good advertisment for phyiscs and science in general to let it slip just because of a couple of dumbasses.

Well, to be honest, it will take over a year to analyse the data before anything meaningful could be published anyhow.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-09-11 12:12pm

Can you post ALL the crazy emails? For great justice?

Post by **Lagmonster** » 2008-09-11 12:38pm

Darth Wong wrote:If you want to be sad, read the comments sections on a typical news website about the LHC doomsday fears. The religionists tend to come out in force, saying that scientists shouldn't meddle in things they don't understand, etc.

Ironically, the most fervent of the fundies very well might not see any threat from things like this to the planet at all; they believe that the world won't end until the Antichrist comes and they're all raptured, etc., so it's all just tiny speedbumps until god pulls the plug.

I've long believed that the most entrenched prophecy-following fundies adamantly believe that nothing we can do will end in any sort of global disaster - mass extinctions, total ecological collapse or us nuking all life on earth aren't in biblical prophecy.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-09-11 01:02pm

There's also some number of them who figure that they can force the almighty's hand, by trying to force the end of the world to come by fulfilling prophecy (like the goobers trying to breed a perfectly red heifer...)

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-09-11 01:08pm

Kanastrous wrote:There's also some number of them who figure that they can force the almighty's hand, by trying to force the end of the world to come by fulfilling prophecy (like the goobers trying to breed a perfectly red heifer...)

Don't they watch movies? Trying to jumpstart armageddon never works.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-09-11 01:24pm

I suspect they stick to watching movies where it does work.

Sephirius · Post by **Sephirius** » 2008-09-11 01:59pm

Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:"So we did some tests, and if you are hearing this message, then the world has not ended."

"maybe."

Anyone else sign that "Commence Primary Ignition" petition?
I hope they do it for the first experiment at least.

Stile · Post by **Stile** » 2008-09-11 05:46pm

Sephirius wrote:
Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:"So we did some tests, and if you are hearing this message, then the world has not ended."

"maybe."

Anyone else sign that "Commence Primary Ignition" petition?
I hope they do it for the first experiment at least.

Yeah, with a very weird name. #388

salm · Post by **salm** » 2008-09-11 07:42pm

Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:
salm wrote:
Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:Maybe what CERN should do, is run several collision tests. Then months later, and many tests and data taking later, they quietly announce, "So we did some tests, and if you are hearing this message, then the world has not ended."
Nah, this is way too good advertisment for phyiscs and science in general to let it slip just because of a couple of dumbasses.
Well, to be honest, it will take over a year to analyse the data before anything meaningful could be published anyhow.

Who cares how long it will take? The important thing is to get the thing on air (image wise, not scientifically). Kind of like with landing on the moon. The scientific analysis of the gained data surely took longer but there still was the Armstrong sentance: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

Napoleon the Clown · Post by **Napoleon the Clown** » 2008-09-11 11:51pm

They need to do the experiments on live television. Then, when they fire the LHC up, they can yell "Oh shit!" and dramatically throw a big-ass switch. Cue the static, "Technical difficulties", then "Get your shit in order, the world's ending." Then they play REM.

They totally should do that on April Fool's. Though the panic it may induce would be a bad thing. Funny as hell, though.

On topic: I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the girl killed herself for fear of what the LHC would do or if it were some sort of honor suicide or honor killing getting covered up. Any of those involves rather impressive amounts of irrationality, and I've noticed that humans, in general, aren't especially rational. Especially the poorly educated ones. I don't necessarily blame her, even. Though if I thought the world was going to end, I'd probably go out and get utterly shit faced and just have a blast until the big blast. *dodges tomatoes*

PeZook · Post by **PeZook** » 2008-09-12 04:42am

What's hilarious is how the people who scream the loudest about the LHC are the ones who know the least about science in general.

And they just don't see it. Hell, they're proud of their ignorance. They chastise scientists for wasting time on their research, criticize grand experiments like the LHC, and they remain oblivious to the irony even when using technology brought to us by these same endeavours

And yeah, if you see a guy screaming about the LHC ending the world, he's probably also an Apollo Hoaxer and believes the government bombed the WTC.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-09-12 10:34am

PeZook wrote:What's hilarious is how the people who scream the loudest about the LHC are the ones who know the least about science in general.

You could substitute "gun control," "abortion," "climate change," "nuclear energy," and I-can't-imagine-how-many-other issues, and the same principle would hold.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-09-12 10:36am

PeZook wrote:What's hilarious is how the people who scream the loudest about the LHC are the ones who know the least about science in general.

And they just don't see it. Hell, they're proud of their ignorance. They chastise scientists for wasting time on their research, criticize grand experiments like the LHC, and they remain oblivious to the irony even when using technology brought to us by these same endeavours

And yeah, if you see a guy screaming about the LHC ending the world, he's probably also an Apollo Hoaxer and believes the government bombed the WTC.

These are the kinds of people who, in high school, repeatedly asked why anyone would need to know any of this stuff, and dropped their math and science courses at the first opportunity. Then they read a creationist or anti-science blog and think they're experts because they understood the talking points on the blog.

The fact is that an awful lot of people have absolutely no appreciation for the enormous extent to which science and technology influence our lives. They're simply too stupid to get it, or to appreciate the enormous debt of gratitude they owe to the natural sciences. These are the kinds of imbeciles who say things like "the soldier has done more to advance humanity than every poet, writer, or scientist", as if all those horrible centuries of Dark Ages and medievalism were marked by an absence of soldiers and war.