Watching that thing that you have conceived actually work as planned is the drug that keeps makers, scientists, engineers, and artists addicted to what they do.

MASSIVE MARVEL: (clockwise from top) The heaviest piece of the Compact Muon Solenoid particle detector being lowered into place; in order for technicians to get around the 27-kilometer tunnel that houses the LHC, various methods of transportation must be employed; when this photo was taken, the main barrel of the Atlas detector was yet to be installed, giving impressive views of the eight torodial magnets.

Photography courtesy of CERN ©

if that were the biggest problem I had turning on a machine like that, I’d be stoked.

Apart from just impressing me with wonder, the LHC project makes me feel good about being human. That we can imagine, theorize, model, and understand our universe. That we support science and knowledge. That multinational teams of exceptional individuals can work harmoniously to make something profound.

It gives me hope that we can actually solve humanity’s larger challenges: water, energy, and sustainability.

Make something beautiful. Make it work.

Saul Griffith is a co-author of Howtoons, a MacArthur fellow, and CEO of a wind-energy startup.

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