Dr. Higgs Hears a Who
2008 April 7
A scientist named Peter Higgs is positive that he is on the verge of discovering the particle that lent mass to matter as it weightlessly awaited creation just after the Big Bang. So certain is he of the imminence of his discovery that he’s already named it after himself: the Higgs boson. Others call the object of Higgs’s quest “the God particle.” This displeases Higgs, an atheist in search of a creative force. Here’s the huh?
Peter Higgs told journalists in Geneva he doesn’t like the term “God particle” because it might offend believers — even though he is not one himself. More on the Reuters religion blog FaithWorld at http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2008/04/09/is-god-particle-the-right-term-for-massive-mystery-in-physics/