Yes, the world is still here. Further reading on various web sites showed that the guys and gals at CERN won’t actually start doing anything of the really cool stuff just yet. Yesterday they just checked that everything works as it should and fired some test shots in each direction of the pipe to calibrate the huge magnets that will lead the hydrogen protons in the right direction. The first major collision will take place some time in October. If you’re wondering if the LHC has caused the destruction of Earth yet, you can check this page, as seen both in a comment to this entry and other places on the interweb. You can also see a live webcam feed from inside the LHC here.

The destruction of Earth is an interesting thought experiment. To me, the idea of knowing that Earth will be destroyed on a certain date is a concept I’m just can’t comprehend. Every time I start to think about it, my brain tells me that it’s a thing that just won’t happen. The logical part of my brain knows that there is a theoretical probability that it might happen while the rational part of my brain knows that because of the probability of it happening is just that, theoretical, it’s not necessary to waste any time thinking about it.

But let us, for the sake of this entry, try to think about it for a minute. Some sceptics say that a tiny black hole created by the LHC could slowly grow and then destroy the Earth in 50 months. What would you do if you knew that was happening, there was nothing you or anyone else could do about it and we’d all be dead in 50 months?

Surely, society as we know it would cease to exist quickly and we’d move back to medival times. People responsible for running the power plants, pumping oil, flying planes and all the things we usually take more or less for granted, will stop doing that and do their best to cover their basic needs instead. It’s possible that most larger cities will fall into utter chaos fast. It will be every man, or perhaps small group, for himself or themselves. Mad Max anyone?

50 months is a long time because it’ll give you time to think. But if you know that the Earth would crumble tomorrow, that makes things different. Would you spend your time with your loved ones, or finally do everything you’ve always wanted to do but couldn’t? Perhaps just throw yourself of a tall building to get it over with?

It’s a lot to think about, maybe it’s safest just to let it be.