When Higgs Boson was being deified and being mentioned as some thing beyond discussions, I wrote a piece in local Telugu press questioning the whole affair of communicating about the matter. People world wide called it a God Particle. Telugu press called it Godly particle also. There is a subtle difference between the two, at least to me.
I am happy to share this piece written by another friend who thinks like me!!
How much do you know
about the Higgs boson? The elementary particle confirmed to exist in 2013 was
big news around the world. Physicists waited a half-century for this event. The
media told us the breakthrough was huge. If you read about the discovery, can
you tell me why it was epic?
My learning experience with the Higgs boson wasn't so much a
revelation about physics, but about how many communicators fail to deliver
meaning to their audiences. I read several articles and blogs that described
great zeal over the discovery. Yet in some of the world's most respected media
outlets, no reporter or blogger could explain why this particle was a paradigm
changer in a manner I could understand.
It bothered me that I couldn't comprehend this story. I
wondered…am I just that dense when it comes to physics? Or are these articles
ineffective? So I surveyed the morning regulars at Peregrine Espresso here on
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, to see if any of them got it. A group of mostly
middle-age-plus guys, and an occasional brave woman or two, meet there most
mornings to discuss politics, sports, relationships, and just about anything on
anyone's mind.
This collection of college professors, lawyers, international aid
workers, government executives, a few random politicos, and a social worker
turned handyman aren't shy about expressing their opinions. If this group of
highly educated, well-informed latte drinkers didn't grasp the significance of
the Higgs, I figured, most of America wouldn't, either. My suspicions were
confirmed: Everyone had heard about the discovery, but no one comprehended it.
Later, a physicist I interviewed for this book, who chose not to be identified,
told me he estimates that probably less than a percent of Americans can speak
knowledgeably about the Higgs boson or why it's important.
Frustrated, I dedicated a couple of days to doing nothing but
research to discover the mystery of the famous particle. I read and reread
dozens of articles and blogs to see if I could find a glimmer of light that
would lead to some low level of understanding. But in everything I read, nothing
seemed to bring meaning to me. I felt either assaulted by physics jargon or
underwhelmed by fluff. Nothing was helping me figure out why this was a big
discovery and why I should care about it. It doesn't matter to me if physicists
are excited about confirming a theory; I wanted to know what's in it for me!
Why should I care about the Higgs boson?
If I had been asked to write about the Higgs boson at this point
in time, my summary would look something like this:
Scientists are
celebrating because the discovery of the Higgs boson confirms that the Standard
Model of particle physics is consistent with what they hypothesized. Physicists
use this theory to explain how the universe works. The confirmation of the
Higgs boson's existence can help them better understand how the Big Bang
occurred.
That summary may be factually correct. But we could do much
better. My readers can take away from this that the discovery is an important
scientific breakthrough, but there's nothing there that is particularly
meaningful to them.
After hours of research, I finally came across a video clip of
Columbia University physicist and best-selling author Brian Greene lecturing on
the Higgs boson at the Aspen Ideas Festival (like a Western Chautauqua).
Eighteen minutes into the twenty-minute video presentation, he said something
that finally resonated with me. The clichéd light bulb went off over my head.
Greene said that the Higgs boson discovery has no practical implications of
which scientists are aware—yet. That piece of information gave me some relief.
I'd been waiting for something tangible to help me comprehend this
revelation…and it turns out there is none—just yet. We humans crave tangibility.
Ironically, it was the understanding of the lack of tangibility
that finally created the spark that helped me grasp the enormity of this
discovery. Greene, apparently a super communicator, eloquently explained:
Sometimes we need to “wait for theoretical discoveries to turn into practical
applications.”1 He drew an analogy to the discovery of quantum mechanics
back in the 1920s and 1930s. Apparently, quantum mechanics was as abstract to
people back then as we find the Higgs boson today. But Greene explained that
quantum mechanics helped scientists and engineers in unprecedented ways—they
understand more about molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles. The discovery
of quantum mechanics ultimately led to the invention of things that today we couldn't
imagine living without. Take, for instance, personal computers and cell phones.
Anything with a circuit wouldn't have been possible without the discovery of
quantum mechanics.
With this example I now understood that the Higgs could soon usher
in a new era of scientific understanding that could lead to more, greater
technological breakthroughs.
Now, let me try again to rewrite the summary. This time with
meaning:
The discovery of the
elusive Higgs boson confirms the theory scientists have been using to
understand how the universe works. Physicists are celebrating this breakthrough
because it can lead to other significant findings like the discovery of quantum
mechanics did almost a century ago. Quantum mechanics led to the invention of
many of the twentieth century's most notable technologies…like cell phones,
computers, and even the atomic bomb. The discovery of the Higgs boson could be
equally important…if not more so. It can lead to innovations we can't yet
imagine.
By linking the Higgs
boson discovery to tangible examples that resulted from the discovery of
quantum mechanics, I was finally able to grasp some of the significance of this
highly hyped science story. The discovery of the Higgs boson is possibly much
bigger than opening the door to new technologies, but this simple comparison
helped me put the Higgs discovery into a context I could comprehend. From here
I could grow to understand more about this great physics discovery. Finally, I
found meaning.
