As forewarned, CERN has presser tomorrow on Higgs

[Monte Davis]

In defense of physicists (of whom I am not one):  what distinguishes
massless particles (e.g. photons) from scholastic word-spinning is that (1)
their properties are unambiguously, mathematically defined; (2) those
p[roperties have led to a century of predictions verified to many decimal
places; and (3) they are the only properties consistent with such irrelevant
arcana as stars shining, atoms cohering, and DVD lasers playing. 

My apologies to Abelard and Duns Scotus if that's the kind of thing they
were doing and I missed it. 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On Behalf
Of Paul Mackin
Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2012 12:24 PM
To: pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: Re: As forewarned, CERN has presser tomorrow on Higgs

On 7/5/2012 11:35 AM, David Morris wrote:
> OK, I stand corrected.  Existence w/o mass.  I expect such existence 
> would never become more organized than at the sub-atomic level.  But 
> I'm no physicist.

Me neither, but somehow I'm reminded of the Medieval controversy over the
distinction between essence and existence, if any.

P
>
> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 10:15 AM, Monte Davis <montedavis at verizon.net>
wrote:
>> It bestows mass; they haven't [yet] gotten around to a field/particle 
>> that "bestows existence."
>>
>>
>>
>>  From  David Morris
>> Higgs is the new either, a medium that bestows existence.
>>
>>