The science gap

I mentioned before the video by cartoonist Jorge Cham, illustrating the explanations of a CERN researcher on the Large Hadron Collider and the Higgs boson. This video was great and explained in layman’s terms the matter (pun intended) of this huge research project.

Today I watched a TEDx talk by Jorge Cham, tackling with what he refers to as the science gap, between the people who do science, and the general public. A part of his talk explains the story behind the Higgs Boson animation, and this story alone makes the talk worth watching.

History explained

So yesterday was the announcement of a massive breakthrough: CERN have discovered a new particle thought to be a Higgs boson. This is a milestone discovery future generations will have in their textbooks. Maybe it is a good time to remind the excellent animation Jorge Cham published a few months ago, explaining in simple words what the Higgs boson is. (it is also a good time to have a look at the photos taken soon before the launch of the Large Hadron Collider)