When I was younger, in about third grade sometimes I would lay in my bed unable to sleep and think about the universe and life. I would be in awe of how humans even existed. My questions consisted of; how was I in here and what would happen when I died? I was just one small person out of millions on this huge planet in a universe where even scientists and grownups did not know the boundaries. What actually made me who I was? Can anyone actually prove or disprove the existence of God? I would keep myself awake until the confusion scared me and brought me to tears. I would run downstairs to my mom asking for answers. To this day, my mom will remind me of when I would come asking her to explain life. I was satisfied with her answer of ‘Life really is a mystery’. These questions were my way of trying to discover my own identity of who I was. I guess this is one of the circumstances that I look back on and know that it is the reason that I fell in love with science.
I was fascinated (and still am today) that people were actually trying to figure out how humans inherit genes from your parents and theorizing some answers to what makes humans who they are. There are constantly new discoveries and essentially, without realizing it at the age of 8, I became captivated by the 'science wars'. What makes us who we are? By reading the article by Pinker I know that I was not alone in my quest for answers and that many others had also been fascinated by the mysteries surrounding who we are. In our discussion we have been talking about the many theories; the blank slate, ghost in the machine, and noble savages. But all of these theories were followed by contradictions; scientists still don’t fully know how humans become who they are.
In college I've loved all different areas of science, but have mostly been fascinated by the human body. My favorite class was physiology, but I have also enjoyed genetics and psychology. Learning about how the body actually functions I have been amazed by how much could go wrong. Science really is everywhere and has an enormous impact on our lives. From the food we eat, to the airplane that can fly us across the world, to medicine and the universe, everything is constantly changing and involving science. It really is fascinating!
I agree with what you said about how there are all these different theories, yet with all the contradictions, its hard to find the "truth." Unlike you, I have not always found science fascinating or interesting, especially in high school. But last semester, I took Physics here at the U, and I actually ended up enjoying it. It taught me a lot about how things work and move, and I learned a lot. It was a refreshingly new way to look at the world, and I'm glad I took that class!
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting to read your post - I think many others feel a very similar way, especially when looking up at the night sky, such as the picture you posted. I have realized, and I think many people in the Cultural Studies department, among other departments, have as well, that ignorance is not always as bad as we make it out to be. We don't have to know everything all the time, and we can accept that human knowledge is a work in-progress and that we shouldn't accept the most obvious or easiest answer for things. When I was a kid I always wanted answers as well, so I completely empathize with your post, so I would stress your comment on science - we don't really know everything, actually far from that. But that's okay! We're knowing more and more (or realizing we know less and less) each day. Eric Best
ReplyDeleteWhat you said at the beginning of this blogpost made me think of the conversation between little Woody Allen and the doctor in Woody's film, Annie Hall, and I think you know which conversation I am referring to, it's on the Pinker's article as well. I thought about these important questions as well when I was little and I myself do not think that anyone else can answer these questions but ourselves. And sometimes in life I feel like it's better off to have something to believe in and have faith in whatever oneself is believing in. Just like you, although I have never studied science before, I am always fascinated by science explaining a lot of interesting things. For instance, I love watching discovery channel and national geographic and I thing animal itself is already science, very interesting science. And of course there are probably billion more examples showing how AWESOME science is! And that's why this class we are taking is so interesting. From my perspectives, science is part of nature, nature is part of science and I think they can exist without each other.
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