Fermilab (the Department of Energy’s particle physics lab with a name that sounds like a company Lex Luther might own) announced last week that there has been a strange change in their data that might suggest they’ve discovered a new particle.
I love how cautious big announcements are in science. We’ve been wrong as a species so many times that now whenever there’s even the slightest possibility that we could be debunked in the future we offer up the new evidence like we’re geeky adolescent boys trying to get a date for prom. “Um, I mean, do you think that you might consider the idea that we maybe could have a new particle? I totally understand if not, in fact, it’s probably a crazy idea. I’ll just go now.”
There’s good reason for the caution, but it sure doesn’t make it any less anticlimactic. If this were depicted on a TV show, there would be a strong claim of discovery backed by triumphant music and the intensity of Sweeps Week.
Maybe I’ve just watched too many episodes of The West Wing lately. Speaking of, everyone saw Aaron Sorkin on 30 Rock, right?
