(it happens to be Carl Sagan’s birthday today and I like to think he would approve of this post. Unless stated the quotes are from/by Carl Sagan)
Humans, in their arrogance, think themselves a great work, worthy of the interposition of a deity. More humble, and I believe truer, to consider us created from animals. (Charles Darwin)
To me, this quote sums up the beauty of being humbled by the truth. We are arrogant, blinded by our need to be special. “We seem compelled to project our own nature onto nature”. But, the universe does not care about what we want, what we consider sacred, or our fragile egos… The truth is still the truth, no matter how long we ignore it, how much pain is causes us, how much we dislike it.
Science has been serving us lessons for centuries, tempering our arrogance. For some, these lessons have a bitter taste. I can empathise, I have tasted the highs of arrogance (and still impulsively indulge), but found that only the truth is really fulfilling. Here are some of my favourite lessons.
Astronomy taught us that we are not the center of the universe, not even close… In fact “we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost between two spiral arms in the outskirts of a galaxy which is a member of a sparse cluster of galaxies, tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe.” See Pale blue dot.
Physics taught us that we (and the gods) are not omnipotent, as we often like to believe. We cannot travel faster than light, no matter how much we will it. If there is no moisture in the air, it cannot not rain, no matter how many cattle we sacrifice. No God can change the past.
Chemistry taught us that life is not made from some kind of special life-giving material, but from some of the most common elements known, “star dust” strewn across the universe by massive explosions.
Thermodynamics taught us that the universe will end in a steady-state (heat death), like a fire, once burning bright, now extinguished, no wood left in sight. Life is the turbulent flow between the hot flame and the cold night. According to the flow of entropy, life’s purpose is speeding this impending steady-state death.
Evolution taught us that “apes are our cousins, that we evolved from the mud and muck”. It taught us that we are not of divine origin, we were not made in the image of some perfect deity, as we would like to believe, but rather, we were haphazardly constructed by a million ‘mistakes’.
Psychology teaches us that we are “not the paragons of reason we assume ourselves to be” (Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman). We take mental shortcuts to convince ourselves we are right, special, happy, … In sum, we are irrational.
Physiology and behavioral (epi)genetics teaches us that we are “not fully in control of our thoughts and feelings”. Our values, personality and behavior, once thought to be determined by free will. Now, they must answer to gene expression and environmental factors. Two people, one raised in a neglectful and abusive shelter, the other by a loving family, will be vastly different, solely due to their experiences. We do not choose our personalities or values.
Artificial intelligence teaches that cognition and intelligence are not so special or mysterious. Rather, it has shown us that we are not even particularly good being intelligent… Bricks of silicone can ‘creatively’ beat us at Chess, Go, Poker, …
Neuroscience teaches us that emotions, creativity, curiosity, humility, willpower, valor, integrity, suffering … are physical processes. They have no inherent meaning, and, despite our objections, they can be artificially reproduced and synthesised.
What lessons are yet to come? Is our universe one of many? Is consciousness an illusion? Does (other) intelligent life exist?
Humility is why I like science, it teaches a way of thinking which helps us understand, and correct for, our need to tell ourselves reassuring fables.
Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or somebody who says everything in this book must be considered the literal truth and never mind the fallibility of all the human beings involved?