Category Archives: Higgs

Goddamn Particle

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Sean Carroll

Hey, did you hear that Planck released its results today? The universe remains preposterous, if still pretty awesome. And it might be lopsided, which is intriguing. Planck says that dark matter makes up 26% of the universe, while the best-fit … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Science | 31 Comments

What “The God Particle” Hath Wrought

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Sean Carroll

You’ve doubtless heard the joke: We can’t call the Higgs boson the “God Particle” any more, because now we have tangible evidence that it exists. But the label “God Particle,” attached to the poor unsuspecting Higgs boson by Leon Lederman … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Science and the Media | 95 Comments

Higgs Boson Blues

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Sean Carroll

Almost enough to make me believe in a benevolent force guiding the universe: Nick Cave, on his new album Push the Sky Away, has a song called “Higgs Boson Blues.” (Hat tip to Ian Sample.) Okay, don’t expect to hear … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Music, Science and Society | 5 Comments

Unblinding the Higgs

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Sean Carroll

This new video has been bouncing around the blogs and Twitter feeds I read: excerpts from internal (i.e., non-public) talks at the CMS collaboration, as they revealed to themselves the new Higgs results from this summer. When you started hearing … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Science | 5 Comments

Standing in Faraday’s Shoes

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Sean Carroll

A highlight of my recently-completed visit to England was the honor of giving a public lecture at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. It’s an honor to give public talks anywhere, of course — I always enjoy seeing … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Science, Science and the Media | 15 Comments

Skeptically Speaking

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Sean Carroll

In a few hours I’ll be chatting live on Skeptically Speaking, a weekly podcast and radio show about science and critical thinking. The guest host will be Marie-Claire Shanahan, a science educator who blogs at Boundary Vision. Live broadcast is … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Science | Comments Off

How to Explain the Higgs Mechanism

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Greetings from chilly Toronto, where I’m briefly in town to participate in a public event about the Higgs boson tonight. Should be a good time, especially because it’s not just me giving a talk; I will spend 20 minutes explaining … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Science | 35 Comments

Colbert Redux

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Last night I had the privilege of once again appearing on the Colbert Report to talk with our nation’s leading pundit about the frontiers of modern science. Here’s the clip. I’m not sure you’d want to use it to help … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Personal | 5 Comments

Reviews!

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Sean Carroll

Many writerly friends of mine swear with a straight face that they never look at reviews of their books. I have tried but failed to comprehend the inner workings of these alien minds; personally, as much as I know it … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Personal, Words | 7 Comments

Shindig!

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Sean Carroll

This afternoon, 6pm Eastern/3pm Pacific, is the fun event I mentioned before: a “virtual book tour” discussion on a new-ish platform called Shindig. The idea is that I sit here with my webcam, talking to you and showing some pictures; … Continue reading →

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Posted in Higgs, Personal | 3 Comments