Science: It's all about the questions, not the answers.

This is a direct quote from my friend Craig Brandenburg (check out his blog here):

"That theism is built upon faith is something that continues to puzzle
many non-believers. That science is built upon questions (rather than
answers) is something that continues to puzzle the unscientific.

Science is primarily concerned with the methodologies employed to
explore questions regarding the observable universe. Seemingly
paradoxically, science is carried out by scientists who individually
are usually more concerned with the answers. Let's conflate science
with the scientists no more than we shall conflate theism with
sinners.

The important point about this -- science focusing on methodology
rather than answers -- is that, by definition, science can never
accept the supernatural. The supernatural is exactly that which cannot
be explained or proved and that bars further probing and testing. To
answer a question with "God" is to say: "Ask no further questions."
Science cannot do this. "God" may very well be the correct answer, but
science, if you'll pardon my anthropomorphism, doesn't care; it will
relentlessly attempt to qualify what can be qualified and to quantify
what can be quantified.

This is why in areas in which little is known, science serves up some
rather crackpot-seeming theories. They're the best ones available.
Eventually better theories will come around and enhance or replace the
weaker, less-substantiated ones. History is full of examples of the
progression from theory to better theory. Two of the biggest and
best-known cases are evolution supplanting spontaneous generation
(among other ideas) and relativity improving upon Newtonian physics.
Newtonian physics was even considered unbreakable law, not just
theory. Nope, it turned out to be wrong in special cases. (And
relativity is itself an inadequate explanation in other special
cases.) Science isn't concerned with having been "wrong" once before
and being "wrong" once again; it merely offers the best-fit
explanation at the time and continues onward. The theists then go off
and ponder frantically about the nature of Truth and of validity and
what it means for a theory to be a fact.

Who cares. It's all about the questions, not the answers."

The Return of Wired Thoughts ...

It seems like this blog went through the same thing that a lot of blogs go through ... a lull characterized by lack of activity, for a long time. This usually comes after a "honey-moon" phase of initial blogging.

I've realized, though, that this blog had some hidden merits for it's author. I noticed that my typing speed improved when I was blogging, I spent less time surfing reddit and other such time-guzzling sites, my vocabulary improved, and most importantly, I felt a better sense of "thinking" throughout the day.

In a way, this blog was my way of meditating. I'm going to start meditating again.

Out of curiosity, how many of you loyal readers check for new posts often? Google Reader says that I have 12 subscribers. If you have read this post, can you post a quick, anonymous comment so I can see if I have any "ghost" stalkers?

As such, I recommend you start blogging if you haven't already done so, and do it regularly. The benefits, though hidden, are well worth the effort.

Cheers,
--Shafik