The Larger Picture

One consequence of human evolution is that we gradually come to understand a larger and larger slice of the truth of our universe. Although we have physiologically evolved slowly over millions of years, the evolution of our cultural and mental dimensions has exploded over just the last ten thousand years or so. The development and growth of scientific understanding is directly due to that rapid cultural evolution.

Science has relentlessly progressed in a very consistent and logical manner. That is its principle attraction for me; it’s not a capricious thing, it doesn’t wander aimlessly, wasting time. I can depend on it; I can trust it. But it’s not the logic of science that is the key here—it’s the manner in which our understanding grows. Pure logic may be the essence of mathematics, but it’s only one tool in the search to grasp the larger picture. (Bernd Heinrich, one of my favorite writers on biology, nicely describes this idea.)

The search for knowledge cannot be a quirky, random process—especially if it’s scientific knowledge we seek. It must be directed and intentional. We must have some sort of idea where we’re going—some tentative expectations, some rough hypothesis. And here’s where a good dose of logic does help. It can guide the search and even alert us to significant observations.

The next stage of this investigative process is where true science—the search for reality—is crucial. We might have expectations about what we may find, but a true scientist will never ignore unexpected or anomalous observations. One should never reject observations that are unexpected. One should never become attached to one’s hypothesis or theory—that’s dogmatic and fallacious reasoning. The quest to expand human understanding has repeatedly faltered and bogged down in the quicksand of dogma and rigid belief.

It is, in fact, those seemingly inconsistent observations that have frequently led people to a larger picture of reality. Anomalies can be clues to the truth. They are often telling us something very valuable: that our limited viewpoint needs to be opened up, widened, even modified. If we choose to ignore the oddities (to stay ignorant!), we choose to limit ourselves to an inferior apprehension. We get locked into a belief that becomes increasingly like a straightjacket. That ossification of belief happens in all areas of human perspective—not just science.

So let me keep my eyes and mind open—not being distracted by every whim that comes along (that’s why I need that initial hypothesis to guide me)—but also not rejecting ideas and observations that don’t fit my prejudices. They just might hold the key to it all.