Even though there won’t be any discoveries for a while, the LHC remains in the news. It was named the #5 best invention of 2008 by Time magazine. Not bad, although looking at the top 4:
- 1. The Retail DNA Test
- 2. The Tesla Roadster
- 3. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
- 4. Hulu.com
I am a little disappointed.
Okay, at-home genetics (#1), electric cars (#2), and movie downloading web sites (#4) are more useful right now than the LHC, and space missions (#3) produce better images, but I don’t think any of them will have as large an impact long-term.
Although some people think the impact is already being felt. When analyzing the election results on his comedy show, Stephen Colbert said (1:20 mark or so) he believed that the LHC “jolted us into a parallel universe that is exactly like our own, only Barack Obama is president and the Phillies are world champions.” And he may be right.
