What We're Meant to Know

One of my podcast subscriptions is Astronomy Cast. Episode 104 was taped at Dragon*Con, with Dr. Pamela "I didn't know scientists were shaped like that." Gay, Phil Plait and Kevin Grazer. The show was about the good and bad sci/fi in books, movies, and TV.

Normally, Astronomy Cast is a half hour podcast about astronomy. It's a really educational show, and I haven't listened to one yet that didn't keep me listening, and learning. Normally, the hosts for the show are Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay. Fraser throws out the questions that keep the show going, and Dr. Gay gives answers that are technical enough to make it real but simple enough for those of us without a PhD. to understand.

Fraser couldn't make it to Dragon Con, so Phil and Kevin stepped up and they had a panel discussion. Both Phil and Kevin are science advisors for TV shows. Kevin currently works on Eureka (SciFi Network, but don't let that stop you because it's a fun show), Battlestar Galactica (also on SciFi Network and another good show), an upcoming show that you can hear a plug for on the podcast, and Zula Patrol. Phil is also a science advisor for Zula patrol, the president for the James Randi Educational Foundation, and is also one of the cohosts of a (hopefully!!) upcoming show called The Skeptologists. Pamela, Phil, and Kevin all have day jobs as astronomers at respected observatories.

Most who buy the stereotypes would think that three PhDs on a panel would make for too much brainpower in one place. However, if you listen to the podcast, you'll find that it is very entertaining. There's a lot of joking, many funny stories, and three people who enjoy both sci/fi and science. People tend to forget that scientists are still people.

Anyway, the entire show was awesome, but it's the bit at the end that inspired this post. About the first half of the show was the panel discussing the shows, and then they started taking questions from the audience. At one point, when an audience member asked about the worst sci/fi, all three, at the same time, said "Armageddon".

The last question was:

"I have more of a concern, or maybe you can comment on it. There is a lot of mystery, and I think that's what keeps science fiction in business. If we ever do find anything, out there... any other life, is the mystery gone, and do we search elsewhere."

Well, all the panelists discuss why this is not a concern, and bring up some interesting things. However, the final word comes from Pamela, and is worth quoting far and wide.

"There's lots of mystery in the universe, and every new piece of information we find gives us a little bit more understanding, and just makes the picture we're trying to paint a little bit bigger and requires a lot more paint. It's a wonderful miraculous universe, miraculous is a bad word... It's a wonderful marvelous universe filled with science that we're still trying to understand, and because we don't understand it people mistake it for magic. As scientists it's our job to describe the magic, and give it equations, and give it math, and give it graphs, and give it computer models, and basically be able to beat things into a bloody pulp of understanding."

After this little speech, the crowd broke out into loud assent and applause. I've always enjoyed hearing Pamela speak. As Phil said early in the podcast, "Pamela will be counting from 1 to 3600, one second at a time... And I'd pay ten bucks a month to listen to that." She has a great voice, and the passion she puts across when she talks makes it that much easier to listen even when the things she's talking about take concentration to comprehend.

However, Phil's response to her end speech was very short and to the point.

"That's too long for a bumpersticker, but I like it."

Some people are afraid of what science finds. It's usually phrased as, "There's some things humans [most often referred to as "man"] weren't meant to understand." That is intellectually bereft bullshit. Perhaps, philosophically one could argue there's things humans weren't meant to utilize. However, if we weren't meant to understand something then our minds wouldn't be able to comprehend it.

The universe is an amazing place, filled with things that are bigger and more awesome than even our imagination can dream up. Many times, reality is grander and more awe inspiring than the imaginary constructs we make to explain them. The best thing we can do is try to find out how things really work. It exercises our minds, and adds to the knowledge that has been given to us by past generations.

Yes, it is a wonderful marvelous universe, and each additional bit of understanding only makes it more so. I can only hope that this generation and the ones afterward still keep adding to the knowledge we have, and help us to begin to comprehend how truly awesome it is.