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Peter Higgs

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Scientist

The Resume

    (May 29, 1929-April 8, 2024)
    Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom
    Theoretical physicist
    Predicted the existence of a new particle, the Higgs boson (aka 'God particle'), which gives other particles mass (1964)

Why he might be annoying:

    He is accident prone and admits he is 'hopeless' at experimental physics.
    His paper postulating the existence of the Higgs boson was initially rejected as 'of no obvious relevance to physics.'
    Two other physicists, Robert Brout and Francois Englert, independently developed the theory at the same time without getting anything named after themselves.
    He is displeased at the nickname 'God particle,' worrying it might 'offend people who are religious.'
    'God particle' is actually a censoring of the original phrase 'Goddamn particle,' proposed by a colleague due to the Higgs boson's elusiveness.
    Some crackpots think the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) being used to search for the Higgs boson might create a black hole that will destroy the earth.

Why he might not be annoying:

    In interviews, he modestly refers to the Higgs boson as the 'scalar boson.'
    Ironically, the organization using the LHC to look for the Higgs boson, CERN, are the ones who rejected his paper predicting it.
    The odds of the LHC destroying the earth are zero, since much more energetic collisions are produced daily by cosmic rays striking the atmosphere. (Basically, if the LHC was capable of destroying earth, Nature would have already beaten it.)
    If the scientists are wrong and the LHC does destroy the earth, at least Higgs is going down with the rest of us.
    The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)claimed that experiments have come very close to proving the existence of the Higgs boson (July 4, 2012).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 15 Votes: 6.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 36 Votes: 47.22% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 328 Votes: 60.37% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 16 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 136 Votes: 68.38% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 32 Votes: 46.88% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 13 Votes: 30.77% Annoying