
The hunt for Dark Matter unleashed its questions around the same time as everyone was getting interested in Higgs. This coincidental synergy has created a spin of ideas and ideologies in many different fields, among a social maelstrom of discontent and distrust in traditional systems and a palpable impatience for a new order of thought.
Out there in the wide world beyond our windows, facts and fabrications blend together to offer science and humanity a new relationship. Art and physics are forging links, as here at Symmetry Magazine which single-handedly blazed a trail for wider coalitions, with competitions to reach an audience beyond the standard model community. Questions are asked of quantum sentience and capability - from computing to cosmology, new issues erupt and the flow therefrom touches more and more people as this wave of wonderment gathers pace.

We're on the move, make no mistake. The coming of Comet Ison may herald a year ahead to rival the year of Hale Bopp - 1997 was a torrent of change for everyone, myself included. What lies ahead is naturally uncertain, but uncertainty itself is part of the panorama and we can afford to get excited.
While we temper our enthusiasm for the undetermined with a cynicism we've come to expect from ourselves, it's worth considering the fact pointed out to me the other day, that films about our future paint it rather black. Technology outstrips humanity and we're all doomed to inhabit a cluster of what's left in the aftermath of techno-wars. Bad guys cook up obscene plots to subjugate society (so what's new?) and we have to battle out of traps using our wits and wads of C4.

What if we were to think a little differently, given the new toolkit at our disposal? What if we were to take on board the prospect of a bright future where we've evolved our thinking past the power of False God Finance and learned to use the resources we have left with wisdom and respect? Yeah, sure, there'll be battles.
But our furtherance isn't all about faster moves and cognitive telepathy. Realistically, It's probably got a lot to do with electrons, neutrinos, gravity, dark energy, and our relationship with the plethora of forces and materials which the Universe has given us the keys to understand.
Interestingly, the Higgs Boson discovery and the smashing of Tempel 1 by NASA's Deep Impact probe both happened on July 4th - Independence Day.