Big Bang Experiment

I must admit I am slightly disappointed, no make that very disappointed. The media has been abuzz with speculation about the "Big Bang" experiment in Switzerland - it could spell the end of the earth, or at least Switzerland.

Visions of all those chocolate box houses and cows flying through the air flooded my mind as I envisioned our dear Swiss friends being sucked into a man-induced black hole and what happened...nothing. Not even a slight earth tremor.

Granted it would have been quite unpleasant to have a big nothingness parking off in the middle of Europe where Switzerland used to be and I would be upset not to eat Swiss chocolate again, but hey if you are going to spend £5bn on a mega project at least make sure it produces something that the rest of the world can enjoy - after all there is nothing entertaining on TV these days.

But no all those little boffins are dancing around shouting success because they managed to send a proton beam around a tunnel hidden 100m beneath the earth's surface. Really cool dudes, but honestly does the result really justify the cost?

What difference would it make if we understood the Big Bang theory or at least have a definitive answer to the question - what is mass?

It certainly wouldn't put food on the plate of starving children, patch up the hole in the ozone layer or create a cure for cancer. Personally I think the money would be better spent on things that matter today. I am not claiming to be the biggest tree hugger out there, it does annoy me though when I see conglomerates that could make a difference wasting millions on proving inconsequential theories.

Even if they do succeed, what does it actually mean for us lowly plebs? Science textbooks will get updated but life will carry on as normal, none of the important issues facing the world will be resolved. My worse fear is that this experiment might give scientists ideas on how to create new types bombs or weapons. After all, that is what happened when some genius discovered how to split an atom. So I ask yet again, is the cost of this experiment justifiable?