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Letter: End of the universe would at least be mercifully swift

Published 11 December 2024

From Sam Edge, Ringwood, Hampshire, UK

I really liked the article on the possible instability in the Higgs field that may end the universe at any moment. If we are doomed, we can at least take comfort in the fact that we won’t have any prior warning or feel a thing, as the end will arrive at the speed of light, travelling faster than any inkling or sensation of pain. This is preferable to an extinction-level asteroid strike, supervolcano eruption, supernova radiation storm or self-inflicted nuclear or biological apocalypse (23 November, p 32).

I don’t hold much truck with the idea that the cosmic cataclysm has already happened, but hasn’t reached us yet, a sort of depressive anthropic principle.

Issue no. 3521 published 14 December 2024

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