Stephen Hawking is Officially a ‘Degen’

Stephen Hawking is Officially a ‘Degen’

Tuesday, 9 September 2008

Quite possibly the smartest man in the whole world has proved himself to be a degenerate gambler – or degen, as the kids like to say nowadays – after betting the world won’t end on the possible extinction of the whole of mankind tomorrow. Good to see the man is betting on trivial matters then.

Before you wonder if we’ve all gone nuts in the Bluff Europe office, the piece has substance. The worries come from the under the French Alps, where a bunch of scientists will continue their search for ‘The God Particle’ by flicking on a machine called the Large Hadron Collider. The machine is the largest and most complex machine ever made, with a circumference of 27 km. The idea is to study particle theory by smashing a load of them together to see if they can recreate the moments after the Big Bang. Some sceptics are fearing the worst though, claiming it could end up in a black hole being created which will suck the Earth to an untimely end. Eeek.

We’re with the Brainy One on this though, after he staked $100 that the machine wouldn’t have the necessary effect and create any black holes whatsoever. He’s in a win-win situation though (the sign of a good degen) after pointing out that if the LHC were indeed to create minor black holes, his own work on the subject could be verified and he’d probably receive the highest acclaim in science.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Hawking said: "If the LHC were to produce little black holes, I don't think there is any doubt I would get a Nobel Prize, if they showed the properties I predict.

"However I think the the probability that the LHC has enough energy to produce little black holes is less than 1 per cent - so I'm not holding my breath."

One time, Hawking!!



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