‘’God particle” discovery ignites debate over science and religion

[cbayer]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/god-particle-discovery-ignites-debate-over-science-and-religion/2012/07/13/gJQAOpaWiW_story.html

By Chris Lisee| Religion News Service, Published: July 13

The Higgs boson is perhaps better known by its sexier nickname: the “God particle.”

But in fact, many scientists, including the physicist for whom it is named, dislike the term.

In 1993 when American physicist Leon Lederman was writing a book on the Higgs boson, he dubbed it “the goddamn particle.” An editor suggested “the God particle” instead.

One thing is clear: The July 4 discovery that marked a new chapter in scientific knowledge also reignited debate over the universe’s origins — and the validity of religious faith as scientific knowledge expands.

more at link

[longship]

1. Manufacturing a controversy?

I can't too excited about these articles. They really don't do much good at advancing thought in either science or religion.

I do not accept Gould's non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA) because there clearly are domains that do overlap. Religions do make scientific claims and the hammer blows of science has nullified many of them throughout the years.

But, I think there is very little overlap here. The Higgs boson's existence or non-existence says nothing about the existence of any god(s). To say otherwise is to be manufacturing a controversy where it doesn't exist. It is also playing on some idiot book editor's stupid choice of the title of Lederman's book. It is not The God Particle; it is The Higgs boson.

The universe is what the universe is. Both science and religion have to live with that. If one desires to preserve NOMA that's what has to happen. These silly articles do nothing to advance either.

Thanks for posting.

[cbayer]

5. I think it is most unfortunate that this was misnamed the god particle

and agree that it has stirred up a non-controversey. While this discovery is one of the biggest scientific findings of my lifetime, it has nothing to do with god or religion, imo. While it helps explain the big bang theory, it neither proves nor disproves anything about god.

[skepticscott]

2. The media is just playing this to the hilt

Shamelessly pandering to the very significant part of their audience that just eats up any story with "god" or "miracle" in the title, and who have a deep-seeded emotional need to believe that science somehow validates their religious "faith".

[skepticscott]

9. And I was going to add....

to people who just love to crow and strut about how this proves those damn scientists don't know everything...but I figured that at least no one here would be in THAT category. Silly me.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

3. There's really only one side that is "debating" the Higgs boson

as a so-called "god particle". The name itself is silly in the context of religion.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

6. Oh brother

[bhikkhu]

7. One of the more annoying episodes in the history of popularized science

...as it takes an important discovery and turns it into an excuse to ignore the science (where people might actually learn something important about the world we live in) and instead chat up the same old useless superstitions.

What does the "validity of religious faith" have to do with physics? Nothing whatsoever, but its so much easier to spin out wordy narratives that say nothing than it is to explain physics to the incurious.

[cbayer]

8. One of the problems here is the difficulty in explaining the Higgs boson.

I have read quite a bit and seen a number of excellent documentaries, so I think I understand it.

But trying to explain it to someone else, and particularly to someone with limited scientific background, is really difficult.

It takes a Neil Degrasse Tyson, and there are very few like him.

[skepticscott]

10. well, thy apparently understand it well enough

to make asses of themselves about it, and to denigrate something that their entire lives depend on.