The worst written science article I've ever seen a journalist produce

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around a critique of a science article published by Fox News regarding the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and its potential to create black holes. Participants express their views on the quality of the journalism, the implications of the article, and the scientific claims made about black holes and the LHC.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express disbelief at the quality of the article, labeling it as "the worst written science article" and questioning how to respond to such journalism.
  • Others comment on the potential implications of the LHC creating black holes, with one suggesting it could explain the absence of extraterrestrial civilizations.
  • There are claims that the article misrepresents the scientific consensus on black holes, with references to physicists who argue that mini black holes could exist longer than previously thought.
  • Some participants joke about the sensationalism of the article, comparing it to past media reactions to scientific discoveries, such as the creation of anti-hydrogen.
  • One participant challenges the notion that the article is poorly written, suggesting it may be tongue-in-cheek and referencing scientific research that may have informed the article's claims.
  • Concerns are raised about the frequency of black hole creation at the LHC and the potential for longer-lived black holes to merge.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally disagree on the quality of the article and its implications. While some find it poorly written and misleading, others defend it as a valid report on recent scientific discussions. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the interpretation of the article and the scientific claims it presents.

Contextual Notes

There are references to specific scientific papers that may provide context to the claims made in the article, but the discussion does not resolve the accuracy of the article's portrayal of the science involved.

Lyuokdea
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The worst written science "article" I've ever seen a journalist produce

I'm just appalled, I don't even know what to say...I don't think this is even in a blog, it appears to actually be an article by fox news (and it came up on their main page)

I guess a second issue is...what do you do against such blatantly horrible journalism, and how do you respond to it?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483477,00.html

Still worried that the Large Hadron Collider will create a black hole that will destroy the Earth when it's finally switched on this summer?

Um, well, you may have a point.

Three physicists have reexamined the math surrounding the creation of microscopic black holes in the Switzerland-based LHC, the world's largest particle collider, and determined that they won't simply evaporate in a millisecond as had previously been predicted.

Rather, Roberto Casadio of the University of Bologna in Italy and Sergio Fabi and Benjamin Harms of the University of Alabama say mini black holes could exist for much longer — perhaps even more than a second, a relative eternity in particle colliders, where most objects decay much faster.
~Lyuokdea
 
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Lyuokdea said:
If the worst comes to pass, and there's now a slightly greater chance that it might, at least it might explain why we've never heard from extraterrestrial civilizations: Maybe they built Large Hadron Colliders of their own.

~Lyuokdea
And destroyed the universe?... Wait! we're still here for now (we'll have to keep checking, I guess).
 


Please use the
tags.
 


turbo-1 said:
And destroyed the universe?... Wait! we're still here for now (we'll have to keep checking, I guess).

A black hole would not destroy the universe, just their planet, and, depending on conditions, their solar system.
 


I guess that is why they call it faux news!
 


This is old news, the chances of it creating a black hole are small, and even if it does they will by so minute as to have relatively little effect (I made a joke there, did you see?) :wink:

Silly journalists. Same thing happened when they produced anti-hydrogen. :rolleyes:
 


Fair & Balanced

Q.E.D
 


Cyrus said:
Fair & Balanced
pronounced: "fairly imbalanced"
 


The atom bomb supposedly would have had created a chain reaction, turning our planet into a inferno.
 
  • #10


Lyuokdea said:
I'm just appalled, I don't even know what to say...I don't think this is even in a blog, it appears to actually be an article by fox news (and it came up on their main page)

I guess a second issue is...what do you do against such blatantly horrible journalism, and how do you respond to it?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,483477,00.html
Still worried that the Large Hadron Collider will create a black hole that will destroy the Earth when it's finally switched on this summer?

Um, well, you may have a point.

Three physicists have reexamined the math surrounding the creation of microscopic black holes in the Switzerland-based LHC, the world's largest particle collider, and determined that they won't simply evaporate in a millisecond as had previously been predicted.

Rather, Roberto Casadio of the University of Bologna in Italy and Sergio Fabi and Benjamin Harms of the University of Alabama say mini black holes could exist for much longer — perhaps even more than a second, a relative eternity in particle colliders, where most objects decay much faster.
~Lyuokdea
I don't understand how this is the worst written "article" you've ever seen. It is a bit tongue-in-cheek, yes, but the article is likely reporting on a few research articles that came out this week regarding miscalculations in CERN's risk investigation.
http://arxiv.org/abs/0901.2948
http://arxiv.org/abs/0810.5515
 
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  • #11


Oh those scientists, never knowing what's right and what's wrong.

Faux News said:
We're also wondering how often the LHC might create individual black holes, since longer-lived ones have a greater chance of merging with each other, and, um, well, see ya.
 
  • #12


Until they have a binoculars to see people in real time, they will always confuse and get confused. :biggrin:
 

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