CERN is getting ready to start operating the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). A couple of guys have sued in Hawaii (for lack of funds) to stop it. They have been depicted as kooks and they certainly are not renowned scientists. But even though I am a technology optimist, I believe they have a point. Most of the coverage has focused on scientists disagreeing on the likelihood of various disastrous outcomes which involve the complete destruction of earth (creation of a stable black hole, emergence ...

CERN is getting ready to start operating the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). A couple of guys have sued in Hawaii (for lack of funds) to stop it. They have been depicted as kooks and they certainly are not renowned scientists. But even though I am a technology optimist, I believe they have a point. Most of the coverage has focused on scientists disagreeing on the likelihood of various disastrous outcomes which involve the complete destruction of earth (creation of a stable black hole, emergence ...

A while ago I called the Large Hadron Collider a “Sucker’s Bet." It’s time for an update because the LHC Safety Assessment Group (or LSAG) has published its long awaited report on the safety of the collider. I am clearly completely unqualified to argue any of this on the substance, but the process is broken. This is yet another paper by a bunch of scientists (in this case five) who present their findings in a static PDF, at the end of having spent considerable time looking at the potential ri...

A while ago I called the Large Hadron Collider a “Sucker’s Bet." It’s time for an update because the LHC Safety Assessment Group (or LSAG) has published its long awaited report on the safety of the collider. I am clearly completely unqualified to argue any of this on the substance, but the process is broken. This is yet another paper by a bunch of scientists (in this case five) who present their findings in a static PDF, at the end of having spent considerable time looking at the potential ri...