True but the same thing could have been said about quantum mechanics at the time it was first thought up.
A better understanding of our universe and how it works is ALWAYS a great thing and almost always leads to even greater things.
This discovery could lead to marvels that we can't even fathom right now just like the people that first theorized about quantum mechanics in the early 1900s couldn't fathom the computer, internet, and even mini-computers that almost everyone has that fits in your pocket. I don't know the history of it but I would wager that more than a few people who helped pioneer quantum physics were simply trying to "figure shit out", just like with the Higgs.
In a hundred years it's hard to imagine that this will not have any effect, and what that will be is unknown, but the Higgs is high energy physics and as such there won't be an easy method of generating them. No Higgs "flashlight" so to speak.
Regarding quantum mechanics the materials used are ordinary physical materials which are used such as silicon. There is something which we can touch and manipulate. Further, the reason we know about quantum effects was the discovery of small anomalies, which is quite different regarding the Higgs. What would be wonderful is if there were variations of mass which might suggest that a manipulation of the field were possible to reduce mass temporarily. If one could reduce the effects of inertia and gravity we could roam the solar system at will. We might move mountains of material as if they were grains of sand. That's entirely speculative, granted, however that is an obvious potential use. Yet though we may know in part "why the muon weighs" it weighs what it weighs.
No one can see the future, and the conformation of the Higgs is important, but it's not a guarantee of anything. Then again nothing is, and that's the fun part. The unexpected is always the best.
Facebook
Twitter