Will mankind ever be able to fully unlock the mysteries of the universe? Because it’s a pretty big place, I’m thinking probably not.
I’m also thinking that inscrutability isn’t necessarily a bad thing; in fact, the very essence of mysteriousness is likely what keeps the human quest for information and knowledge alive. Perhaps Neil Armstrong says it best: “Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.”
To understand — that’s really what we want, right? Galileo and Isaac Newton wanted to understand more about the world around — and above — them, so they applied scientific thought to their learning process. In more modern times intellectuals like Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking have pushed through our knowledge boundaries by developing accepted theories for previously incomprehensible concepts. No doubt about it: without the scientific process, we earthlings would be “in the dark” much more than we are now.
But even with scientific tools at our disposal — not to mention some really smart people — there always have been and always will be puzzles to be puzzled out. One of the truly fascinating hallmarks about being human is that we want to explain the world around us even when we can’t. Throughout history — from the time of early man to present day — there has existed an almost primal need to communicate our experiences and our ideas. In the introduction to this week’s book, “The Secrets of the Universe in 100 Symbols,” Sarah Bartlett says this: “Humankind has always had an innate urge to express core experiences, such as childhood, virility, fertility, death, sacrifice, and love, through myths and legends, art and architecture, and belief systems. And every culture from every part of the world and every era has used symbols to express those experiences in a universal language that transcends all.” While the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” suffers from over-use, the message continues to ring true.
