http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/04/tech/physics-higgs-particle/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18702455



Oh come on! Is it the Higgs or not?

I decided not to pay attention anymore until the day I read a title saying "Freaking Higgs Boson finally discovered!"

This would make such a GREAT episode for Big Bang Theory !!

Who is this girl Higgs, and why should I care about finding her breasts?

Although I did hear she could be responsible of giving you a massive one...

It's all but in the bag. Let them quibble out of respect for scientific orthodoxy. Long live the Standard Model.

What amuses me the most are the news websites and networks reporting on this while most likely only about 2% of the population gives a rats ass about it.

I think you still might be overestimating the number of interested parties.


Wheels

Well, they had to make a statement I suppose. Fermi also reported a similar finding, though at a lower standard of deviation (2.9 IIRC).

I read this as more "we can see there from here" announcement. As I understand it, the expected evidence of a particle and it's decay is supposed to be the only way to tell if the Higgs effect exists. A sort of sign that they are looking in the right place. Exploring there should answer questions on whether there is a single Higgs boson or perhaps a family of them, and how the predictions fit the findings.

That is if I understand what I've been reading.

Still beyond my grasp are the parts about expectation of a Higgs having 5 channels, though as of this announcement I think only 2 (the most easily detectable IIRC) were shown.

By >...............................this.........................................< much.

http://i.imgur.com/aPw3R.jpg