But why has the Higgs value been stable for billions of years? The answer, we believe, is that the Higgs value, like the marble in the flute or the electron in the trap, is hemmed in on all sides by formidable barriers: if the Higgs field was to try migrating from 246 to a larger or smaller number, the barrier would forcefully drive it back to its original value, much like the marble would be driven back to the bottom of the flute should someone momentarily shake the glass. And were it not for quantum considerations, the Higgs value would permanently remain at 246. But as Sidney Coleman
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