I think I’ve read that one. By Haldeman, right?

Would somebody please turn on the Large Hadron Collider so we can just end the debate? One way or another? Srsly? It might solve some other problems, too. *snicker* In short, a new paper says that the reports of the probable demise of black holes created by the LHC are greatly exaggerated (off by a half a second or more). Heh. Sounds familiar...

Joe Haldeman staged his “Forever Peace” novel around the possibility that an übercollider being built in the orbit of Jupiter could destroy all life in our solar system. (Not the only subject of purest conjecture in the novel, but I’ve been nostalgic about Haldeman’s work since I read “Forever War” as a kid.)

The book suggested that “now that we know what to look for” we can see all the other solar systems that other so-called intelligences used to inhabit before they built their own übercolliders and destroyed themselves... and only a magical mind-melding device that will make pacifists of us all can save humanity! (It’s a good book, if you like escapist scifi with remote controlled robots fighting our wars in the near future and a good bit of close up violence despite the peacenik dogma.)

Anywho, back to Reality™ where bombastic headlines and journalistic license sell advertising @ Fox News:

Casadio, Fabi and Harms think the black hole would lose out, and pass through the Earth or out of the atmosphere before it got to be a problem.

[snip]

If the worst comes to pass, and there's now a slightly greater chance that it might, at least it might explain why we've never heard from extraterrestrial civilizations: Maybe they built Large Hadron Colliders of their own.

Scientists Not So Sure 'Doomsday Machine' Won't Destroy World

I think J.D. summed it up nicely in his Sunday comic: *wibble*

Even my 10 year-old daughter laffed out loud when it was suggested that we shouldn’t proceed with experiments until we know what will happen when we do them.

Where did I put that crowbar? (Just in case!)