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The transformational power of science
Jan. 16th, 2008 10:24 pmWhile driving to work this morning, I heard this story on Morning Edition. I was struck by the passion of Chelsea Cook, the vision impaired high school student who wants to study astrochemistry and be the first blind astronaut. Hearing the excitement in her voice when she talked about astronomy and what she wanted to do with her life made me choke up a little (yeah, I'm a big softie anyway). And it got me to thinking about the power of science to inspire and transform.
The most profound "gee whiz" folks I know are some of the scientists – the ones possessed most deeply by that childlike sense of wonder that leads them to look at the sky, or through a microscope, or at an equation and go "Wow! That's really cool! I wonder how that works?" Then they start to dig a little deeper, marveling at each new layer they uncover, until they've found the little miracle underneath it all. Because all that stuff is composed of miracles, you know. Quantum foam? That's a miracle. Gravity lenses? Another miracle. The fact that it may be possible some day to come up with a set of equations that explain the whole universe? Yup, you guessed it, another one. Seeing the world through the lens of science tells me that we are all brothers, just check that DNA stuff, if you don't believe me. And the more people we can get to think about this stuff, and examine the world through that lens, the better off we'll all be. Or at least that's an experiment I'd like to see undertaken.
The most profound "gee whiz" folks I know are some of the scientists – the ones possessed most deeply by that childlike sense of wonder that leads them to look at the sky, or through a microscope, or at an equation and go "Wow! That's really cool! I wonder how that works?" Then they start to dig a little deeper, marveling at each new layer they uncover, until they've found the little miracle underneath it all. Because all that stuff is composed of miracles, you know. Quantum foam? That's a miracle. Gravity lenses? Another miracle. The fact that it may be possible some day to come up with a set of equations that explain the whole universe? Yup, you guessed it, another one. Seeing the world through the lens of science tells me that we are all brothers, just check that DNA stuff, if you don't believe me. And the more people we can get to think about this stuff, and examine the world through that lens, the better off we'll all be. Or at least that's an experiment I'd like to see undertaken.