Can I just say how thrilled to bits I am? This is a momentous day for physics, nay, science itself, and I'm delighted that as I type, protons have completed their first circuit of the LHC. I understand very little about the physics of it, and really, if you think you're going to find out all about it here, you've come to the wrong place (try the CERN Podcast). I know vaguely what they're doing, and why they're doing it, and what I know makes sense. I could explain it to my friend's 12-year-old, but Paul could probably explain it better, because he absorbs and retains knowledge like a sponge.
But I'm even happier, because all day, this has been the top story. A science experiment is the top news on the BBC News and CNN. It has been the headline news on Radio 4, and I'm listening to an entire day of television programmes about science, including Man-Haters' Hour talking about women in science. I'll listen again to that.
I'm trying to think back to the last time a scientific discovery was top headline news. Obvious examples are the moon landings and the birth of the first test-tube baby. But that's it. Maybe someone with a better memory can remember, but I think this is a first in my lifetime. Will we get more children interested in science, especially physics, in school? Hope so. This has been very well executed PR-wise. There are no wild-haired "boffins" in white coats. The head presenter, Professor Brian Cox (remember, US, that "professor" is a much more exclusive title in the UK, reserved for particular honours), is a young, "cool" guy, who used to be in a pop group. See, scientists can have floppy haircuts and wear tight t-shirts.
(He's also a scientist who makes me feel woefully inadequate, since it seems doubtful if I'll even have my PhD by the time I'm his age, let alone a permanent job, a regular BBC gig and a professorship, but that's beside the point.)
The BBC has been ever so slightly mocking, as though all the presenters are sharing some kind of in-joke that the physicists are not party to, but it's a lot less mocking than their coverage usually is. On the whole, I'm happy. I've seen this capture the hearts and minds of the general public. It's being talked about everywhere - on BBC's Have Your Say (do ignore all the idiots saying it's too expensive and we could be curing cancer instead), and even The Gumtree (which is to reasoned intellectual debate what a wank mag is to an ingrown toenail).
And with that, I'm off to listen to a surprisingly large number of physicists-turned-comedians and really interested celebrities talk about the LHC. I just wish I could stop typing it as "Large Hardon Collider". I'm going to embarrass myself. Probably while doing my fortnightly slot for High Peak Radio.
But I'm even happier, because all day, this has been the top story. A science experiment is the top news on the BBC News and CNN. It has been the headline news on Radio 4, and I'm listening to an entire day of television programmes about science, including Man-Haters' Hour talking about women in science. I'll listen again to that.
I'm trying to think back to the last time a scientific discovery was top headline news. Obvious examples are the moon landings and the birth of the first test-tube baby. But that's it. Maybe someone with a better memory can remember, but I think this is a first in my lifetime. Will we get more children interested in science, especially physics, in school? Hope so. This has been very well executed PR-wise. There are no wild-haired "boffins" in white coats. The head presenter, Professor Brian Cox (remember, US, that "professor" is a much more exclusive title in the UK, reserved for particular honours), is a young, "cool" guy, who used to be in a pop group. See, scientists can have floppy haircuts and wear tight t-shirts.
(He's also a scientist who makes me feel woefully inadequate, since it seems doubtful if I'll even have my PhD by the time I'm his age, let alone a permanent job, a regular BBC gig and a professorship, but that's beside the point.)
The BBC has been ever so slightly mocking, as though all the presenters are sharing some kind of in-joke that the physicists are not party to, but it's a lot less mocking than their coverage usually is. On the whole, I'm happy. I've seen this capture the hearts and minds of the general public. It's being talked about everywhere - on BBC's Have Your Say (do ignore all the idiots saying it's too expensive and we could be curing cancer instead), and even The Gumtree (which is to reasoned intellectual debate what a wank mag is to an ingrown toenail).
And with that, I'm off to listen to a surprisingly large number of physicists-turned-comedians and really interested celebrities talk about the LHC. I just wish I could stop typing it as "Large Hardon Collider". I'm going to embarrass myself. Probably while doing my fortnightly slot for High Peak Radio.
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