Cern Neutrino

Faster than the Speed of Light

Well, this changes everything. The BBC reported, this week, that Scientists have successfully repeated an experiment in which neutrinos have been recorded traveling faster than the speed of light. The full scientific report, submitted to the Journal of High Energy Physics, is currently being reviewed by the scientific community.

Why all the fuss? Simply put, much of modern physics is based on the theory that nothing can exceed the speed of light in a vacuum. It’s a fundamental part of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Results of the previous experiment were published in September, and scientists immediately challenged the findings. Though this test dispels the largest group of challenges, lesser challenges still remain, and further tests will not be conclusive before 2012. In the meantime, we will have to be patient, questioning our most fundamental theories of the universe.

But wait! We don’t need to spend millions of dollars (or Euros, as the case may be), investigating this controversial theory. Those of us who work in social media have countless examples of things that move faster than the speed of light.

Take the introduction of a new iPhone model, for example. Even before the prototypes are released, we’ve read countless product reviews on Twitter. And when Facebook announces a new layout, it arrives in the shadow of a million blogs extolling (or decrying) its virtues (or flaws). And Google+… oh, never mind. That’s been moving at the slowest possible speed, not the fastest. But you get my point.

Nothing can surprise us anymore. Not new products, not new platforms, not scientific discoveries, not even Apple. We’re as jaded as any group could possibly be.

Go ahead, Scotty, beam us up.