{"id":3007,"date":"2011-12-17T05:57:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-17T05:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/?p=3007"},"modified":"2025-09-28T22:04:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T22:04:50","slug":"a-little-physics-the-higgs-bosongod-particle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/?p=3007","title":{"rendered":"A little fun with physics – Spurred by the recent Higgs Boson\/”God Particle” talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Current research to determine if there is a Higgs Boson<\/a> has been much in the news the last several days, and I always enjoy this sort of speculation –<\/p>\n

From Washington Post op ed writer Michael Gerson<\/p>\n

The search for the God particle goes beyond mere physics<\/a><\/p>\n

… 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<\/a>.\u201d …<\/p>\n

******<\/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<\/a>, 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

This is not proof for the existence of God. But the conflict here is not between faith and science; it is between the competing faiths of theism and materialism, neither of which can claim to be proved by science. Modern physics has accelerated smack into the limits of the scientific method. It raises questions it cannot answer but that human beings cannot avoid \u2014 matters of meaning and purpose. This is not a failure of science, just a recognition that measurement is not the only source of meaning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Current research to determine if there is a Higgs Boson has been much in the news the last several days, and I always enjoy this sort of speculation – From Washington Post op ed writer Michael Gerson The search for the God particle goes beyond mere physics … But why should a mathematical equation \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5286,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3007\/revisions\/5286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tomfarandasfolly.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}