A couple of years ago I was talking to some co-workers about the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, which is a giant device that will smash atoms together at a rate partially simulating the conditions during and immediately following the Big Bang.

The joke was that the Big Bang was really caused by the LHC, the exact instant it was put to use, unexpectedly simultaneously destroying and creating the universe.

“I hope this works,” said the scientist in charge before flicking the switch. Big Bang.

Flash forward 5 billion years to a time when humanity is re-developing and flourishing after the previous Big Bang, all the time researching what it was, pondering the how and the why. All the time developing test scenarios to finally understand just what had happened, all those billions of years ago that gave birth to the universe, and ultimately to humanity. Finally, after so many generations of technological advancements, the puzzle is about to be solved!

“I hope this works,” says the scientist in charge before flicking the switch. Big. Bang. Somewhere, far above this, God just shakes his head.

That’s also what this guy thinks.