Large Hadron Collider to Confirm God's Existence?

[MattusMaximus]

I got an email from a colleague who said that Harper Magazine's July issue Harper's Index stated the following:

"Odds, given by an online bookmaker, that the Large Hadron Collider will confirm the existence of God: 100:1."

Has anyone seen anything more specific on this?

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

I got an email from a colleague who said that Harper Magazine's July issue Harper's Index stated the following:


Has anyone seen anything more specific on this?

Like 100.1:1?

 

[MattusMaximus]

Like 100.1:1?

No, like the original source.

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

The oddsmaker in question is PaddyPower. I found that out from this article.

I wonder what they'd set as the odds you learn to use Google.

 

[MattusMaximus]

The oddsmaker in question is PaddyPower. I found that out from this article.

I wonder what they'd set as the odds you learn to use Google.

Your Google fu is stronger than my Google fu, master

Many thanks.

 

[Vorticity]

I got an email from a colleague who said that Harper Magazine's July issue Harper's Index stated the following:

"Odds, given by an online bookmaker, that the Large Hadron Collider will confirm the existence of God: 100:1."

Who comes up with this stuff? How the heck is the LHC equipped to confirm the existence of God? What would that even mean?

 

[MattusMaximus]

Who comes up with this stuff? How the heck is the LHC equipped to confirm the existence of God? What would that even mean?

Exactly. For starters, one would have to define "God" - I wonder how many rubes will be sucked into this one?

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

Who comes up with this stuff? How the heck is the LHC equipped to confirm the existence of God? What would that even mean?

It doesn't matter whether the LHC is equipped to do anything (for purposes of betting); it only matters what the betting public will put money on it doing.

And, to put 100:1 in perspective: the same site is offering 16:1 odds that the blue whale will be the first extinction due to the BP oil spill. There are records of only two blue whales in the Gulf of Mexico and only about 10% or less of the total population of them are in the North Atlantic at all. (Source)

ETA: Also, remember that when oddsmakers make odds they are not actually saying, "we think it is this likely that event X will happen (or propostition P is true)". They are simply trying to maximize profit. At 100:1 odds, they are basically hoping that a whole bunch of saps will think, "Hey, if I just toss up a dollar, I might make 100 back. Probably not, sure, but hey, it's just a dollar."

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Maybe this is all just confusion on the part of non-scientists?

The LHC may or may not find the Higgs Boson aka The God Particle.

http://www.google.ca/#num=50&hl=en&q="god+particle"+LHC&fp=f77f2e83db52b33f
gives all sorts of interesting information and speculation.

Per: http://www.articlesbase.com/nature-articles/stephen-hawking-doubts-god-particle-lhc-555285.html
Hawking is betting that the LHC will not find it.

 

[rjh01]

There may be more than one god. Five in fact. Or rather five different particles. This will prove that the Christians and Jews are wrong. It is the Hindus who are right.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10313875.stm

There may be multiple versions of the elusive "God particle" - or Higgs boson - according to a new study.
<snip>
But recent results from the LHC's US rival suggest physicists could be hunting five particles, not one.

The data may point to new laws of physics beyond the current accepted theory - known as the Standard Model.