Comment by garmaine
7 years ago
Well, maybe you shouldn't have stopped reading. A particle that is not described by the standard model DOES "break physics as we know it." That phrasing is typical of science journalism hyperbole, but it is accurate in this case.
Perhaps my exact point didn't get through well. I find that exactly this kind of phrasing is what's bad, because I fear that it isn't interpreted as "new physics" or "overhalued physics" as in cozzyd's or SideburnsOfDoom's comments, but rather "look, scientists from Newton through Einstein were proved wrong". And the big issue is when this is followed by the thought "How can we know scientists aren't wrong about [insert issue here]?"
Its like when you open the screen door in summer and a whole swarm of uninvited guests come flying in
There are like dozens of hypothesized particles outside of the standard model. The standard model is not the be all and end all of physics as we know it.