CERN's Large Hadron Collider is NOT going to destroy the Earth

I can't wait for the LHC to come online. It is going to provide insight and advances in all areas of science. Please do not be swayed by the ignorant fear mongers who think that the Earth will end when the LHC comes online in August of 2008. Sites like SaneScience.org are just pathetic. They absolutely teem with fallacious arguments and mis-information.

For example, on the very front page of SaneScience.org you will find a ridiculous Argument By Generalization by which the authors attempt to undermine the authority of the CERN scientists by introducing a completely irrelevant nugget of information about how many people die in hospitals each year at the hands of medical staff. Their arguments goes something like this...

"Most people trust doctors, but look how dangerous they really are! Scientists are sort of like doctors, therefore we can't trust them either."

But the information that SaneScience.org presents is COMPLETELY backwards. They want you to believe that tens of thousands of people needlessly die in hospitals each year, but they link to a report that suggests the exact opposite! It really is comical. The sad part is that most people probably just swallow this crap without even thinking.

If you want the real story on the Large Hadron Collider, check out Brian Dunning's excellent blog and podcast Skeptoid.com, and in particular, his entry on the LHC entitled "Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the Earth?".