Because nobody knows what the mass of a Higgs boson might be, the particle must be hunted indirectly, typically in giant machines that propel particles to near-light speed, then smash them together and generate an array of other subatomic particles.

WSJ: Physicists Find Signs of Higgs Boson, or 'God Particle'

Particle physicists would not have the first idea of what was going on in their machines if the results of their experiments were not processed automatically.

ECONOMIST: Drowning in data