Sunday, September 7, 2008

Oh, calamity

What are these scientists up to? Just re-creating the Big Bang so we can all disappear in a black hole of our own making, that's all! Madness. It's fine, of course, they're not really expecting that to happen. Well, there's only a very small chance...y'know, not enough to worry about.

I'm telling you this is a bad idea. Circumspection would be a very, very good thing here. Scientists aren't circumspect - they make bombs, and drugs that have devastating side effects, and stuff that causes pollution, and it'll all turn round and bite us on the bum one day.
We don't advance through science, we just create a different set of problems. Wipe out one devastating disease and you get another in its place. Like the police trying to stay one step ahead of the criminals, we try to get the better of nature - and we do for a brief moment - but then she hits us with something else because she's cleverer than us.

It's not knowledge we need, it's kindness.

Anyway, this experiment. Today one of the critics is quoted as saying that if it has the effect they fear then nothing will happen for four years and then stuff will start going catastrophically awry. So, let's see, four years - that'll be 2012. The very year that the ancient civilisations always said the world would end.

6 comments:

Casdok said...

Interesting. Maybe we should stop biulding our Olympic stadium!!

Jill Steeples said...

I must admit I was a little alarmed when I first read about it. But Kit who's following the whole thing gleefully, tells me that there's a one in 50 million chance of them making a black hole and that's the same odds as winning the lottery twice in a row.

Look on the bright side, there's more chance of us selling a story this week!

Honeysuckle said...

Hi there, Casdok, I do sometimes wonder whether I should bother saving for my pension, seeing as it won't kick in till after 2012. (I always was a cheerful little soul.)

Maddie - they know not what they do! Did they know thalidomide would have the effects it had? Nope. I rest my case. Not that I want to depress you. And y'know, the thing about the short story - I don't think there's that much chance of that happening either...

Karen said...

Oh god, that's put the wind up me! What chance is there of me having a novel published before then I wonder??

Jen said...

I love Maddie's logic. Call me perverse but I quite like the idea that the earth could be obliterated by a scientific experiment. I'd probably be a bit pissed off if it actually happened though.

Honeysuckle said...

Karen - best get your skates on. C'mon, you can do it!

Spiralskies - so many ways the earth could be obliterated really - it's a wonder we're still here. As far as being pissed off about it goes: I don't mind being obliterated per se; I just don't like pain...