I recently sent this email to David Brin:
David, I have read all your books and think that you are an outstanding writer. Also,
I believe that your continuous observations on society and the universe are very
Important. I am curious what your reaction is to the doomsday scenario presented
by Luis Sancho, Walter Wagner and Otto Rossler. In the web address I have attached,
Luis is claiming that Penrose is providing him inside information on the Large Hadron
Collider – and that some of the research is aimed at making strangelets. I also note
that these individuals (Luis, ect.) do have science and math backgrounds.
http://www.cerntruth.com/?p=125
Not being a particle physicist, I have no way of addressing these claims. I do know that
Penrose is as highly respected as Hawkin in the physics world. In your novel, Earth, the
world confronts an equally dangerous encounter with exotic particles. It would be
nice if the UN has a committee addressing technological dangers – or if some US
government organization was created for this purpose.
I do think Sancho has a point that those whose livelihoods are tied to CERN could
well be compromised in their opinions. His quote from Fermi is also quite disturbing:
Perhaps we haven’t received any alien communications because their high energy
physics experiments have destroyed them. (I also see from your “are we doomed”
video that you take the Fermi Paradox quite seriously.)
You also made mention at your site an organization whose main purpose is addressing
these dangers – the Life Boat Foundation. Has it studied the threat possibilities of the
LHC? Would this organization be interested in recruiting new members? Would any
situation demand some form of political response or protest? Best wishes, Blight
Well are Strangelets at the LHC a credible threat - and if so has The Lifeboat Foundation
developed a credible plan for addressing it? I'm getting the impression that this foundation
may be like the League of Nations prior to World War II. It is not quite clear to me how blogging
and chit chatting will mitigate any real threats. Nor am I impressed with the paid membership angle,
maybe the Life Boat Foundation could sell t-shirts stating: We Blew It and Everybody Died
We got a plan to save humanity (but it needs to go through a series of subcommittees)
Please forgive me - I am new to this site - and do not intend to be insulting.