Science Versus Mystery—Part 2

But I don't see the science-versus-mystery game as a dualistic, exclusive choice that I must make. If I go for science's story and facts, I don't necessarily have to abandon mystery and wonder. If I want to retain some mystery about the situation, I don't have to ignore what science can tell me about it.

To begin with, science is rarely certain. This is a mistake people often make. (Or worse yet, people reject science's story, because it isn't certain. Hey, it's only a theory, right? So let's reject the Theory of Evolution. Let's reject the theory of global warming. Our culture is inclined, out of naivety, to spurn science.) Scientists are clear that their theories are never the last word. They never reach certainty on much of anything—instead, it's at best a provisional understanding. Further study will uncover new data and information, so a revised understanding will emerge... a little closer to the truth, but never exactly spot on. The only certainty in the human realm occurs with dogma—either from religious sources or from people who consider themselves to be an unmitigated authority.

Thus, while I perceive science as not offering me anything certain and final, I nonetheless very often turn to it, when I encounter something in nature that I don't understand; something that is mysterious. My experience has been that once I do delve into science in order to learn what's going on, the knowledge I gain inevitably leads me to deeper wonderings; to more mystery.

For example, if I were to go seek what science has to say about how Young's wasp builds its nest—once that question is answered—I am confident that I would find a host of additional questions popping out. What's more, these questions would never have come to me, without that additional knowledge that science brought me. For example, How did evolution bring about this process? Why does the wasp use the specific materials that it does? Why has it chosen that particular location to build its nest—to avoid predators; to be closer to prey? Do wasps over in the next state use the same construction process, and why? Hmm, now that I know more about its nest—and maybe the fact this species of wasp rarely stings—let me get my magnifying glass and close in for a better view. What details am I now missing, that I'd then see?

So I don't see mystery and certainty as being at odds with each other—forcing me to choose one and lose the other. Science does not close me down, or erase the wonder. Think of Carl Sagan (those of you who might remember his “Cosmos” series on TV in the early 80s). He was an eminent scientist who described the universe with poetic awe. That's no certainty; it's flat out wonder and reverence.