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General Discussion => Science & Nature => Topic started by: mistybear on August 28, 2008, 15:03

Title: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: mistybear on August 28, 2008, 15:03
                                                The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World

                                                                LINK (http://www.cracked.com/article_16583_5-scientific-experiments-most-likely-end-world.html)
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Clive on August 28, 2008, 15:41
 :haha:  Love it MB.  Sam is probably working on one of those as we speak!   :woot:
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: sam on August 30, 2008, 09:45
CERN won't end the world... too many people read Dan Brown books (not that I don't enjoy them but they aren't the most factual). I have lots of friends who work on those projects... I myself just try to observe the Big Bang...  :)x
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Clive on August 30, 2008, 20:48
Yes, you are more pliable at your age.     ;D
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: GillE on August 30, 2008, 22:42
Never mind the Big Bang... at my age I'm happy with a Little Phutt!
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Simon on August 30, 2008, 23:46
Glad you spelt that right, Gill!  ;D
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Reno on August 31, 2008, 01:23
I don't see a good cost to benefit ratio in the collider at this point. I mean they could have spent the same amount of money on energy research or medical research. Purely academic research is important, but I don't think its that important. The God particle has waited billions of years, it can wait for 10 or 20 more. At least until the world has a handle on its current problems.

Hopefully I'll have the money to invest my way into some molecular nanotechnology companies by the time the first prototype assemblers come online. I think the government will go into overdrive regulating nanotech when the public realizes the possibilities. If you aren't quick enough to get it when it's new and relatively unrestricted then i think most people will be SOL.

Btw what is phutt? Urban dictionary only had one definition and it was retarded. 
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: sam on August 31, 2008, 11:09
I don't see a good cost to benefit ratio in the collider at this point. I mean they could have spent the same amount of money on energy research or medical research. Purely academic research is important, but I don't think its that important. The God particle has waited billions of years, it can wait for 10 or 20 more. At least until the world has a handle on its current problems.

Well CERN has a tendency of producing some wonderful technology... you and I would not be speaking on here if it wasn't for this academic research.
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Camstop on August 31, 2008, 11:27
You forgot to add "New Labour" to that list  ':|


They've already ferked up the UK so World beware!  :devil: :)x ;)
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Simon on August 31, 2008, 11:56
Btw what is phutt? Urban dictionary only had one definition and it was retarded. 

I think you call them firecrackers (we call them bangers), but if you can imagine how a damp one might go off - that's a phutt! 
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: mistybear on August 31, 2008, 12:02
Isn't it similar to "a bit of a fizzer". Or have I got the wrong one.  :dunno:
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Simon on August 31, 2008, 12:20
Depends what you're thinking about, MB!   ;) ;D
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: mistybear on August 31, 2008, 12:23
  :lol:   :naughty:
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Reno on August 31, 2008, 17:52
Well CERN has a tendency of producing some wonderful technology... you and I would not be speaking on here if it wasn't for this academic research.

What, speaking on the internet? From what I remember the first web browser didn't cost out the ass and take researchers years building the first testable prototype. Even the military networks didn't take that long and cost that much to produce. Either way, mostly everything that came out of building the first academic networks was known ahead of time. They knew they were paying for a network to share information. I don't remember hearing any people predicting a catastrophe from the creation of the first internet browser
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: sam on August 31, 2008, 20:49
but the crazy people did still predict that CERN would end the world then - creating antimater... scary stuff! I think you are also giving the scientists of CERN a huge discredit there.

It won't end the world. You only have to know some simple physics to figure out that all these things are not going to happen. Like the black holes... the size that would be created are less than the Plank length and so would evaporate rather quickly. Unless we are majoirly wrong about physics...
Title: Re: The 5 Scientific Experiments Most Likely to End the World
Post by: Reno on August 31, 2008, 23:04
I did not discredit anyone. Their colleagues did when they made the doomsday predictions. I just cited it. No, I don't believe anything catastrophic will happen. That's not my point.

To me it doesn't really matter. What does matter is its cost to benefit. Doing something for the hell of it is one thing, doing it for huge amounts of cash at the public's expense is another.

Here's my own original personal prediction. The collider gets turned on and the thing leads to no new relative answers. Spend all that money, make all that fuss, and create that much hype over nothing. In the end the scientists involved become responsible for the largest waste of taxpayer resources in recent memory.