So it seems a few weeks ago we all came one step closer to potentially unlocking the mysteries of the universe.

Sure, it only took $6.7 billion and the construction of the largest scientific instrument ever created, but in my opinion, a small price to pay for such invaluable knowledge.

But as the question of whether or not this discovery is indeed the legendary Higgs boson, or if it’s in fact a completely new member of the subatomic posse, I wonder: Are we really ready to unlock the greatest mysteries of life?

It was only today, as I looked at my Facebook News Feed, that I noticed a picture of How I Met Your Mother super-straight yet super-gay star Neil Patrick Harris and his partner holding their two children.

A pro-LGBTI page had posted the professional image in a bid to get more than 10,000 likes, and as it sat shared by a friend of mine in front of me, I smiled at the 66,000 likes and growing it had already received.

Unable to control myself, I scrolled through the comments on the right. There were congratulations, praise and light-hearted jokes, but as you can imagine, it didn’t take long to find the hate.

I saw young girls and boys calling them “freaks”, twenty-somethings like me caps lock shout how these two “FAGGOTS CHOSE TO BE GAY” and an old woman with a passion for tulips summing up the scenario as “disgusting”.

It was this last woman, who clearly didn’t understand the basic security features of Facebook, who intrigued me the most.

From her posts I could see she had a sense of humour, she had friends and her impressive horticultural skills made me believe she had a talent for growing and nurturing life, albeit in plant form.

And as I tried to put myself into her shoes, I just couldn’t see how a picture of a happy, loving couple holding two healthy babies could ever be “disgusting”.

I wanted to message her instantly, roll off a tirade of anger and astonishment at her complete lack of compassion and tolerance of other people and tell her exactly where to shove her gardening fork. But what good would that do?

It’s like the well-meaning commentators retaliating with their own slurs about how the trolls must be “inbred hicks who fucked their sisters”. I know you’re angry, but fighting fire with fire will only fuel the hatred…

I’m not saying that this behaviour is surprising, far from it. If you really want to get your blood boiling you should check out the comments on YouTube. That place really pulls no punches.

But it just saddens me to see that there is still so much hate and ignorance in the world from people that really should know better.

After all, how will we ever discover the meaning of life if we won’t let each other live?