The Higgs Boson discovery and clamouring to be wrong.

I noticed something interesting about the discovery of the Higgs Boson. It wasn’t the discovery itself, it was the reaction of physicists to that discovery that struck me. In particular, so many of the scientists clamoured to be wrong. I shall explain.

A number of physicists who were interviewed expressed the thought, in various ways, that they hoped that the Higgs Boson turned out to have properties INCONSISTENT with the STANDARD MODEL. That is, they were clamouring to be wrong. They wanted their existing theory to be overturned and be shown to be incorrect by the new discovery. Indeed, the famed Stephen Hawking had bet good money that the Higgs Boson would not be discovered – because he hoped that science would be proven wrong in its present models, because, I inferred, science is at its most interesting, when it is wrong-footed. It is in such times, that great advances in understanding are made. So, it is, that all these physicists want to be shown wrong. They want, in short, to usher in times of uncertainty and discovery and new thought and experiment and theory. They want intellectual excitement in their lives. Were the Higgs Boson to be proved to be exactly as expected then none of these things would happen. It would be business as usual. The world would continue much as it had before and they would have no surprises to wake up to each morning. The physicists didn’t want that. They wanted to live in revolutionary times. They were tired of stasis.

I rather feel that many branches of science will, in time, be filled with scientists thinking much like those physicists. As science matures and ignorance recedes, there will be the growing feeling that there is much less left to understand – that no big revolutions lie ahead. Thus, it is, that science will become less interesting for its practitioners. I cannot say if science has already reached that stage, but it is not difficult to feel that it cannot be far off for some branches of science, if it is not already here.

Scientists want to feel intellectually alive. To do so, they need times of change and challenge. Only, therefore, discovery that they were wrong, would usher in such times, assuredly. It would show them that they need to go back to the drawing board and begin again. Such a thought, does not tire them, but invigorates them. They wish to really live the life of the mind and to breathe its fresh thoughts.

In a way, I hope that the physicists get their wish – because times of change are exciting for the spectator, too – as I now am to that branch of science. Just to witness novel thoughts and theories, is a pleasure for those who appreciate matters of the mind. So, let us hope that the discovery of the Higgs Boson has some surprises for us. Let us hope it ushers in a new and deeper, richer, more complex understanding of the world – and with it brings us new powers over nature, that, I hope, we use wisely.

Just as the discovery of the electron ultimately led to electronics, perhaps the discovery of the Higgs Boson will lead to technologies of mass manipulation – which would obviously be both powerful and exciting in their applications: flying cities, anyone? The possibilities are as endless as our dreams. I shall watch the tale of the Higgs Boson with great anticipation – and so, too, I hope shall all Mankind. It could portend a very different world, indeed.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

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Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

Philica: an important online journal.

Philica is an online journal, for the publishing of research papers. It is also, I believe, a very important step forward in academic publishing. I shall explain.

Academic publishing has long suffered from a number of problems. Indeed, some of them are listed on the Philica website and are quoted below:

"Unnecessarily lengthy review periods
Papers rejected for trivial reasons
Reviewers not reading work properly owing to time pressures
Publication blocked because a reviewer is working on something similar
Reviewers reacting unprofessionally to criticism of their work
Tendency for reviewers to be established authors, with subsequent bias against novel ideas and methodologies
Good reviews, followed by, “However, I’m not sure it is right for this journal — why not submit to X instead?” "

In short there are an abundance of reasons why a paper might not be published, or might be delayed, that have nothing to do with the quality of the work. The whole process is so slow that it can take YEARS for an academic paper to finally be published after it has been sent to a journal for evaluation. The result is that the whole scientific and academic enterprise is slowed down and made inefficient. Philica, however, provides a solution.

As long as a researcher has an affiliation to an academic institution (meaning they work with one), or other research institution such as a government or industrial body, then a writer may upload their article onto Philica IMMEDIATELY. This establishes priority at once and allows the researcher to communicate their work at once, speeding up intellectual progress. The peer review process occurs online and in the open, as articles are reviewed over time, by other professional researchers.

Philica has several important advantages, therefore, over traditional publishing. One big one is that there is no blockade on ideas which the Old Guard might try to stall, because they challenge the status quo. Thus, Philica provides an outlet for work with a difference, that could make a difference.

Philica is an open access journal. The work is available online to be read by all. This is in strong contrast to traditional journals, which have limited circulation and cost a fortune in subscription charges. Philica, however, is free to all authors - and readers. The work uploaded is hosted permanently. However, they have running costs and do need financial support, which comes from donations. So, if you feel that freeing up academic publishing is an important thing to do...please visit http://www.philica.com/ and make any donation that you feel able to. Even a small one will be a help. You would be furthering intellectual progress should you support Philica.

I should point out that I have no personal involvement in Philica. I just thought I would write a blog post to try to help an admirable enterprise. It was founded by two British psychologists, Dr. Nigel Holt and Dr. Ian Walker. So, all credit for this innovation in publishing, should go to them!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The Mayans, 2012 and the "end of the world".

Long ago, a people called the Mayans drafted a calendar. The only problem is that the last day is, I understand, December 21st 2012. It is a problem because, rather oddly, quite a few "modern" people seem to believe that because an ancient calendar had an end date in 2012 that also means the world must end with it. I find this rather bizarre.



Think about it. The idea that an ancient calendar somehow foretells the end of the world, simply because the calendar itself runs out of dates on a particular day is really quite mad. It has no more validity than if I make up a calendar, now, that suddenly stops on March 3rd, 3003. I then proceed to place many copies of this calendar in strategic locations around the world, likely to be found, but also likely to survive. Then, a thousand years later, all the world lives in fear of death, because of the "ancient" objects they discover that inexplicably end on a particular day. It is really quite bonkers.



That many people in the world are apparently concerned about the ancient Mayan "prophecy", is yet another sign that we do not live in rational times. Yes, there are some who are rational, but many of the "masses" are not. They persist in a non-scientific, somewhat "magical" view of the world, in which things can happen in ways that have no rational explanation, yet are accepted. This is, perhaps, a failing of education systems, around the world, for there is no better cure to "magical thinking" than a good scientific education. Once a person understands the fundamentals of science, a whole raft of superstitions, outlooks and world views seem ridiculous. Among them, of course, is the idea that the Mayans had privileged information about the future.



Now, it must be understood that my position does not come from a closed mind. I am open to all possibilities, however, I do like to see that they can be understood and explained - or at least have evidence for them. There is no evidence, that I am aware of, for Mayan prophetic abilities. If there were a consistent record of Mayan prophecies, recorded before the events they describe, which then took place as foretold, then I would worry about what might unfold in 2012. However, I have not heard of anyone speak of such things, nor have I read of it. Such a prophetic record would be a truly marvellous thing and would soon be known by all, were it found. I can therefore assume that it doesn't exist. In the absence of such a record, the idea that the ending of a calendar signifies the end of the world, can safely be ignored. It is of no more import than that the calendars, in every shop in the world, have 365 days in them, the 365th being the last.

So, relax about 2012 and "the end of the world". There is no RATIONAL reason to worry about it. That being said, of course, that does not mean that it won't be the end of the world - just that there is no reason to believe that the Mayans had any advance information on the issue.

The world will end one day. Yes. However, it is unlikely to be 2012. It will occur eventually, no matter what we do, when the Sun expands (unless we move the Earth..., which is quite a good idea, but also quite an engineering project).

Oh, and don't worry about the sun expanding to engulf the Earth. That would take 5 billion years. Though in a billion years or so, the Earth's oceans will boil away, making a day at the beach, a bit meaningless.

In all probability 2012 will be just like any other recent year. The only difference is that the Mayans will lose a certain cachet - and all those, too, who believed in their "prophetic calendar."

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

A2 Hypersonic Plane: Mach 5

A hypersonic plane, known as the A2, has been announced by Reaction Engines of Oxfordshire.

The details are quite astonishing. This plane will carry 300 passengers, up to 20,000 km, at mach 5 (a speed of 6,400 km/h). It is intended to depart from Brussels International Airport at Mach 0.9 until it is out over the North Atlantic, then it will pick up speed to Mach 5. When travelling to Australia it will apparently do so by going up over the North Pole and over the Pacific.

Not only is it fast, it is also gargantuan. The plane will be 143 metres long - twice as long as the largest existing aircraft.

The plane is the result of a project funded by the European Space Agency known as LAPCAT (Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies). The plane will not run on conventional aircraft fuel but will, instead, use liquid hydrogen. This will create a cleaner footprint, emitting only water and creating some nitrous oxide. There will be no carbon emissions. The designers believe this will make it more greenhouse friendly.

There is one potential problem, though. The plane flies so high that it actually travels within the ozone layer. It is unknown whether this could damage the ozone layer (which prevents a dangerous level of UV (ultraviolet) light from reaching the ground).

Anyone expecting beautiful views from such a high flying, borderline spaceplane is in for a disappointment: the high temperatures created by such high speed flight preclude windows. However, the designers are considering putting tv panels where the windows should be, to give an external view (even if it is secondhand).

Reaction Engines estimates that a ticket would cost about the same as a first class ticket does presently: about 3,500 pounds sterling. Flight time from Brussels to Australia would be 4 hours and 40 minutes. This opens up the bizarre prospect of daytrips to Australia from Europe. Amazing.

So, are we all soon to be enabled to fly great distances in little time and see the world shrink to the size of a lazy afternoon? Unfortunately not. I was rather disappointed to learn of the timescale before this great leap forward in aviation would occur: Reaction Engines estimate that it could be flying in about 25 years time. That's right - hypersonic flight is about a quarter of a century away - and that is if it gets funding between now and then to allow development to move ahead.

This story made me think of how slowly technology is actually changing. So many visions are scattered before us of how, in no time at all, the world is going to be such a different place. Yet, almost always their timescales are either omitted or seriously in error. Barring the internet, most of what we have today was available a quarter of a century ago - even if not in such a polished form. Relatively little is truly new. (Even the internet was present in a nascent form as an academic network).

It seems to me that 25 years is an awfully long timescale compared to an average human lifetime, for this development to be brought to market. No doubt it is the same with many other futuristic projects. It all just takes so long.

I remember reading predictions, as a child, that, by now we would have permanent colonies on the moon and holidays there would be within the grasp of many. It was all wonderfully inspiring stuff. Sadly, as anyone now knows - it was hopelessly over-optimistic. In truth, no human being has left Earth orbit in the last three decades. We haven't gone forward, in space, but in this aspect, at least, we have stepped back, from what could have been.

I would like to take a hypersonic trip from Europe to Australia one day - but that day is a long way off. By then, I will be a much older man - and perhaps not given to too much travel.

Despite what futurists tend to say, all the time, we are not on a fast forward to the future - it seems, in fact, we are going slow ahead to the future. Change is coming, yes - but nowhere near as fast as we are led to believe. At least, it seems so, from just looking at my own lifetime (which no doubt overlaps considerably with your own). You don't have to take my own lifetime as an example: just look at the A2 hypersonic plane - a full 25 years away, for the next big step in aviation. Another date should be noted to understand the significance of this: the last flight of Concorde, the first - and so far only - supersonic passenger jet, was on October 24th 2003. Thus, we will have had 30 years without supersonic (or hypersonic) passenger flight before the first A2 jets take to the air. That, to me, is one big step backwards, before our next step forwards.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and seven months, and Tiarnan, two years exactly, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

Does Japan have a future?

Does Japan have a scientific future?

You may think this a strange question to ask since Japan, presently, has the world's second largest research industry (after the United States) and is known as a technological powerhouse, in commercial terms, at least. Yet, all is not as well as it seems.

The recent PISA comparative survey of the abilities of 15 year olds in 57 countries worldwide held some warnings for the possible future of Japan. If the results are any indication, Japan seems to be in decline. Japan's mathematical results were disappointing: they came in 10th, showing a steady decline over the past few years - having been 6th in 2003 and 1st in 2000.

That is not the worst of it, however. Japan fell to 6th place in science, having been 2nd in the two previous PISA surveys. That, in itself, may not seem particularly worrying - but another piece of information obtained from the thousands of students who took part is. Almost NONE of them want to be scientists. Only 7.8 per cent of Japanese students expected to be in a scientifically related career by the age of 30. This was by far the LOWEST scientific ambition of the youngsters out of all 57 countries. If young Japanese don't want to enter scientific careers, there will soon come a time in which there just won't be a Japanese science base.

It seems, from other information, that young Japanese are aiming for financial careers, instead. This doesn't bode well, however, in a technological and scientific era, that promises to become even more strongly technological and scientific as the decades pass and new technologies mature - such as nanotechnology and its associate, nanomedicine. Such technologies require a strong science base to sustain. It looks as if Japan is in grave danger of not having such a base by the time such technologies mature.

In contrast, the United States, while it came in the bottom half of the table, in Science, in terms of the abilities of its 15 year olds, actually, and surprisingly, came 3rd in terms of the AMBITION of its students. Many of them want to be in a scientific career at the age of 30 (even if most of them are not actually showing much ability at the age of 15). However, no matter what the ability of the students, without the wish to be a scientist, that ability will never translate into a scientific outcome.

Thus Japan has scientific ability, but no scientific aspiration, in its youth. America is in the opposite position, at present. Oddly, I think there is rather more promise in America's situation - since at least whatever ability there is, may actually translate into a scientific base, in the decades to come.

There are many problems in Japanese education, not least of which is the lack of investment in science. Apparently, the budget for science experiments in elementary school is 40 cents per student. It is no wonder that students are lucky to get to see any science in action at all. The results of this short-sightedness are beginning to show.

By the looks of it, the technological Japan of today, is staring ahead to a much less heady future.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and no months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and five months, and Tiarnan, twenty-two months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)