Sorry readers!
I meant to draw attention to that "crazy" book, FREE RADICALS - The Secret Anarchy of Science - by Michael Brook, a mean scientist himself. I had succeeded in getting my younger colleagues at The Lagos Country Club, Ikeja, to glance through my copy and subsequently ordering their own. We had fun discussing some of the arcane topics so effortlessly covered by the master storyteller Brooke.
When the news broke that "they have found the Higgs Boson," we joined the celebration, without forgetting to ask again: "What the hell is that?" Having read about the Boson in Brooke's account didn't necessarily make us any wiser or smarter. We were unfazed because we honestly believed that we were in the same boat with 99.9% of otherwise educated humanity. Rather nice company.
Why am I revisiting this matter? The Scottish professor, Peter Higgs, who initially proposed that quirky particle in 1964, and has himself been equally elusive, has been finally ferreted out of his unobtrusive life to ruminate publicly over his work. A well-deserved Nobel Prize in Physics was recently awarded him. Congratulations Prof!
I hope no one asks me what we are going to do with the Boson particle if and when we can lay hands on one. That would be most unfair. The wizened and wispy-haired professor at age 87 has confessed that despite working on this aspect for more than 50years, he still has no clue. What then can a strapping 68 year old lad like me do? This is completely outside my league. . Tara!
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