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Return to E-mail Discussion page I've been thinking recently about the following question: For someone who knows little about science, but is interested in looking for "meaning" (where do I fit into the overall scheme of the universe, what makes my life significant, etc.), what would we list as the important insights from science so far, which this person needs to know as part of an effective search for meaning?The spirit of where I'm trying to head with this is captured in a statement by Gerald Feinberg: "What is required...is not a detailed understanding of the content of each science, but rather a kind of synthesis of many different strands from many sciences.... When this synthesis is achieved, it could well bring the excitement of scientific discovery to many who have remained unmoved by the detailed accomplishments of the individual science." The list below is just what came to mind off the top of my head, to get the discussion started. Please suggest additions, deletions, or modifications, and help compensate for my physics/astronomy bias! :-) Physics: - predictability - the fact that we have consistent, repeatable laws about how things will work when we observe them - universality of laws - the same rules seem to apply to the whole universe (they don't work just on earth, for example, as they might have) - special relativity (its implications for how we understand what space and time really are) - foundations of quantum mechanics (Bell's inequality, EPR paradox, quantum measurement, etc.: all questions that have something to say about our basic knowledge of the world) - things are made of fundamental, identical building blocks (one electron is exactly like another, etc.) - ideas about the arrow of time - conservation of energy as it relates to constraints we feel in everyday life (e.g. needing to eat) Biology: - genetic basis of life (and links between living/nonliving matter) - basic ideas of evolution, evidence for it, timescales involved, etc. Astronomy: - basic ideas of and evidence for the expansion of the universe, big bang, etc. - time and distance scales - the universe is much bigger than we can easily comprehend, so it's useful to have a sense of perspective - origins of elements that now make up different materials on earth Chemistry: - chemical basis for mental processes, etc. - pattern formation, auto-catalytic reactions Geology: - determination of the age of the earth I know I've left out many important things...but this is a start. Todd |
