Physics Science

This is an approachable, mostly fast-reading treatment of humankind’s (or at least the superstring physics community’s) most ambitious effort yet to smash atomic particles together… all in an effort to understand the physics of the very small, and ultimately, of the very big.

However the very real issue here is nothing short of “the end of life as we know it”. The evidence assuring us otherwise appears to be thin, suffer from conflicts of interest, and reliant on ‘bell curve’ approaches to probability in a world now enlightened by chaos and outlier theory, as the author, an engineering and science-informed attorney, points out.

Even the scientists running the CERN Large Hadron Collider experiments acknowledge a 1-in-50 million chance of triggering a black-hole event which would literally destroy our planet. The basis for the 1-in-50 million analysis seems to be roughly routed in the same kind of ‘billions and billions’ calculations often cited for life in the universe. So… are these the real odds, are we up for these odds, and what is our knowledge-gained upside? …These are the very legitimate and essential questions posed by Lehmann and backed up by the kind of rigorous thinking you’d expect of a top-flight lawyer.

The precautionary principle is widely cited when it comes to the risks of anthropomorphic global warming, yet it would appear to be largely ignored in the case of the Hadron Collider — except for a surprisingly few lone voices like the author. Intriguingly, “No Canary” raises the parallel and not implausible idea that some of the black holes observable in space might be, in effect, anthropomorphic black holes — caused by the hubris of intelligent civilizations when they fail to pass the “don’t touch that dial” Hadron test.

That said, it’s important to note that this is not an over-the-top “doomsday is coming”, sensationalist treatment of the issue — far from it — the argument is conservative in its approach, well-reasoned and logical — which has the net effect of making it **much harder to dismiss** and therefore **all the more concerning**.

Although the material is a repetitive in places, could benefit from some deft editing in a next edition, and a bit narrowly rooted in the author’s personal life experience at times, it is also very helpfully peppered with real-world examples/analogs, vignettes linking the Hadron situation to larger social forces, and layperson-appropriate explanations of the science. On balance, I found the reading experience “one-sitting engaging” — no bogging down in overly obscure science — feeling more like the pre-trial intrigue for a high profile legal case… and what a case.

With an educational background in engineering, I was aware of the collider project and had picked up some media mentions about a small possibility of tiny black holes, but “No Canary” has completely reframed my thinking about what may be the penultimate scientific issue of all time, and literally perhaps, the end of time — what if human civilization loses that 1-in-50 million bet being placed by a few thousand scientists on behalf of 6 billion people (if, as Lehmann compels us to consider, those are even remotely close to the correct odds).

Often quoted, but uniquely and literally fitting here, the words of J. Robert Oppenheimer come to mind — “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” — following the first test of the atomic bomb.

Rating: 5 / 5

Same arguments were debated in a novel published in Italy at the beginning of September, but leaning more on theological arguments. It did cause a stir in Italy for a few weeks but then the interest died down with the closing of the LHC. Angelo Paratico “Black Hole” Mursia, 2008. In the book of Lehmann the arguments are debated in a legal/ethical way. Interesting reading, applicable not only to quantum physic but also to nanotechnology and virological reasearches.

Rating: 5 / 5