{"id":10321,"date":"2011-12-21T06:01:07","date_gmt":"2011-12-21T11:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geneveith.com\/?p=10321"},"modified":"2011-12-21T06:01:07","modified_gmt":"2011-12-21T11:01:07","slug":"the-god-particle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/","title":{"rendered":"The “God particle”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Michael Gerson gives the most lucid explanation I have found for what the Higgs boson\u2013a.k.a. the \u201cGod particle\u201d\u2013is.\u00a0 He also explores the implications of the strange fact that mathematics, which is a function of the human mind, can actually predict what things exist in the external world:<\/p>\n

Modern physics can explain just about everything, except why anything has mass. The Standard Model of physics, which emerged four decades ago, employs an elegant mathematical formula to account for most of the elemental forces in the universe. It correctly predicted the discovery of various leptons and quarks in the laboratory.<\/p>\n

But the equation doesn\u2019t explain gravity. So the Standard Model requires the existence of some other force that seized the massless particles produced by the Big Bang and sucked them into physicality. The detection of Higgs bosons would confirm this theory \u2014 which is why scientists are smashing protons into one another in a 17-mile round particle accelerator and picking through the subatomic wreckage.<\/p>\n

\nIt will take a few more years for definitive results. But most scientists don\u2019t seem to appreciate the glorious improbability \u2014 and philosophic implications \u2014 of the entire enterprise.\n

In 1928, theoretical physicist Paul Dirac combined the mathematical formulas for relativity and quantum mechanics into a single equation and predicted the existence of antimatter. Antimatter was duly discovered in 1932. But why should a mathematical equation \u2014 the product of brain chemistry \u2014 describe physical reality? It is not self-evident that there should be any correspondence between mathematical formulas and the laws of the universe. Modern physics does not consist of measured phenomena summarized in elegant equations; it consists of elegant equations that predict measured phenomena. This has been called \u201cthe unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics.\u201d However unreasonable, it led to the construction of the Large Hadron Collider along the border of France and Switzerland, the largest machine ever built by human beings.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ard Louis, a young physicist teaching at the University of Oxford, recalls his first encounter with Dirac\u2019s equation. \u201cHow can mathematics demand something so fantastical from nature? I was sure it couldn\u2019t be true and spent many hours trying to find a way out. When I finally gave up and saw that there was no way around Dirac\u2019s result, it gave me goose bumps. I remember thinking that even if I never used my years of physics training again, it would have been worth it just to see something so spectacularly beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Louis describes a cumulative case for wonder. Not only does the universe unexpectedly correspond to mathematical theories, it is self-organizing \u2014 from biology to astrophysics \u2014 in unlikely ways. The physical constants of the universe seem finely tuned for the emergence of complexity and life. Slightly modify the strength of gravity, or the chemistry of carbon, or the ratio of the mass of protons and electrons, and biological systems become impossible. The universe-ending Big Crunch comes too soon, or carbon isn\u2019t produced, or suns explode.<\/p>\n

The wild improbability of a universe that allows us to be aware of it seems to demand some explanation. This does not require theism. Some physicists favor the theory of the multiverse, in which every possible universe exists simultaneously. If everything happens, it is not surprising that anything happens. But this is not a theory that can be scientifically tested. Other universes, by definition, are not accessible. The multiverse is metaphysics \u2014 just as subject to the scientific method as the existence of heaven.<\/p>\n

One reasonable alternative \u2014 the one advocated by Louis \u2014 is theism. It explains a universe finely tuned for life and accessible to human reason. It accounts for the cosmic coincidences. And a theistic universe, unlike the alternatives, also makes sense of free will and moral responsibility.<\/p>\n

via The search for the God particle goes beyond mere physics \u2013 The Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I love that:\u00a0 \u201csucked into physicality.\u201d\u00a0 Also the \u201cunreasonable effectiveness of mathematics.\u201d\u00a0 Also \u201cModern physics does not consist of measured phenomena summarized in elegant equations; it consists of elegant equations that predict measured phenomena.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intelligent design is not just predicated on one thing or another showing evidence of having been designed by a primal mind.\u00a0 It seems to me to go much deeper than that.\u00a0 Mathematics is<\/em> mind, and that mathematics applies to nature is evidence of a mind behind nature. \u00a0 Isn\u2019t it?<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Gerson gives the most lucid explanation I have found for what the Higgs boson\u2013a.k.a. the \u201cGod particle\u201d\u2013is.\u00a0 He also explores the implications of the strange fact that mathematics, which is a function of the human mind, can actually predict what things exist in the external world: Modern physics can explain just about everything, except […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,33,40],"tags":[1401,1728],"class_list":["post-10321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apologetics","category-nature","category-science","tag-mathematics","tag-physics"],"yoast_head":"\nThe "God particle"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michael Gerson gives the most lucid explanation I have found for what the Higgs boson--a.k.a. the "God particle"--is.\u00a0 He also explores the implications\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The "God particle"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Gerson gives the most lucid explanation I have found for what the Higgs boson--a.k.a. the "God particle"--is.\u00a0 He also explores the implications\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-21T11:01:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/\",\"name\":\"The \\\"God particle\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-21T11:01:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-21T11:01:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"Michael Gerson gives the most lucid explanation I have found for what the Higgs boson--a.k.a. the \\\"God particle\\\"--is.\u00a0 He also explores the implications\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2011\/12\/the-god-particle\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The “God particle”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. 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