Sunday, August 30, 2009

...and Then What?

I have loved science ever since I was a little boy (except biology, of course, cos I was a boy!). How it explains so many things that would have driven anyone crazy if he sat down to think about it and did not know the answer. Like why does the apple fall to the ground? The phenomenon of day and night and the whole process of evolution (although some people still proudly exhibit traits of their ancestors...). Science is also about the inventions that we now take for granted, from the first fire to the modern day nuclear reactors, from the wheel to the space shuttles and from penicillin to the Human Genome Project. But lately this love has been dwindling.
I know science is on this agenda to explain every bit of human life, from the nano particles to the solar system, from the past to the future but personally I feel that some things should be left a mystery. Does it help to know that the emotions we feel, be it love or affection or anger are mere electrical impulses sent from the brain to some other part of the brain? Does it help to know that human beings came into existence by a string of accidents and the coincidental match of the perfect atmosphere on this planet? Or does it help to know that when people die, they just die and there is nothing after that, nothing beyond but just memories?
I like to believe that emotions arise from the heart and that the only purpose of heart is not to pump blood but also to give life a meaning (although i know that the only purpose of the heart actually is to pump blood), and I like to believe that after people die, they don't just vanish but move onto something better, or start the whole process again. Life is so beautiful that I don't like the idea that this is the only opportunity I have got to gaze at the northern lights or marvel at the glowing waters of bio bays. I like to believe that after all this, there will be a time when I won't have to earn money or book flights to go from one place to another but I can just close my eyes and be there.
On the positive side, at least science has given me the warning that this might be the only chance and that I should not waste precious moments doing nothing (which I do a lot!). Sometimes I wonder, what will the poets write about if everything in this world becomes run-of-the-mill phenomenon and nothing can be left to imagination? I wonder when does knowledge become too much knowledge? I guess it's every person's right to draw his or her own line. Just like my mother drew a line at television with regards to technology, I am drawing my line here regarding life and its meaning.