I think it is interesting how even at the level these chaps operate they can become entrenched in their view being the only one
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Clearly CERN would not have got off the ground without strong support for the quest for the HB and in such a context perhaps Peter Higgs sees Hawking as not being serious in his comments.
And even if the HB is not found that is not to say there is not a particle that effectively does the job Peter Higgs sees being done by the HB.
The space set aside for the HB may well occupied by a number of smaller particles that together does what a single HB should do..this means they would be even harder to isolate. Once there were no quarks but once established the family of quarks grew ..uppers and downers plus a range of colours to describe what once was a concept of a single unit (partcile).
I have been checking Ed Witten on utube and he certainly has a delightful manner and given his incredible intellect I thought he shows a very humble approach.
Well spoken and quietly spoken are attributes to be admired.
alex