Science steps up with Higgs discovery

Just like the impact of great efforts in music, literature and art, last week’s announcement of the apparent discovery of the Higgs boson has elevated science further in its remarkable imprint on humanity, writes Lawrence Krauss in Tuesday’s New York Times.

In “A blip that speaks of our place in the Universe,” in the New York Times (July 10), Krauss, the director of the Origins Project at ASU and a Foundation Professor in the School of Space and Earth Exploration and the Department of Physics, states that detecting the Higgs boson required an unparalleled technological feat accomplished by thousands of physicists worldwide. The result is an elevation in our understanding of the universe, and a significant step towards understanding our origins.

“The apparent discovery of the Higgs … provides a remarkable celebration of the human mind’s capacity to uncover nature’s secrets, and of the technology we have built to control them,” Krauss states. “Hidden in what seems like empty space – indeed, like nothing, which is getting more interesting all the time – are the very elements that allow for our existence. By demonstrating that, last week’s discovery will change our view of ourselves and our place in the universe. Surely, that is the hallmark of great music, great literature, great art … and great science.”