Heresy in the Church of Science

I have, many times, criticized the American transition into science as a new religion. But, to be clear, it is not science I have a problem with; it's the worship of science I have a problem with. In fact, I (note the quite intentional lack of a rude expletive) love science. I have been fascinated with it since I was a boy.

As neurologist David Eagleman so aptly pointed out, science is just a pier that stretches out into a vast ocean of things we do not know; therefore, science cannot be looked to for the definitive answers to everything. And it certainly cannot be seen as a defining parameter for all that is possible in the universe. Things exist, in incalculable numbers, outside of what science can prove. To say one doesn't believe in anything that is unproven is to admit to idiocy, if you ask me.

The worst outcome of this worship of science is the decreased wonder at the depth of the human mind and body.

Just a few days ago, this occurred to me as the reason why I turn so angrily away from studies that tell us that there is an answer as to the source of human creativity; or that show us, in a CT scan how the mind of an athlete works; or that explain the physiology behind criminal behavior; or that reduce love and passion to chemical equations.

We humans are so much more than that. A trend in brainwaves might be a pier into the ocean of what goes on in our minds, but it will ever be a boat ride to Truth.

A Noble Cliché

There's nothing cool in this groove.

There's nothing new to what I'm sayin'.

But sometimes, the truth is what it is.

~ Jon McLaughlin: "Until You Got Love"

The other day, a woman behind the counter at a convenience store asked me, "How are you today?"

"Good -- how are you?" I replied, somewhat unconvincingy, I'm sure. I may have even sounded a little rude.

If I had answered honestly, I would have said, "Well, I feel a little like I might have a heart attack. I nearly burst into tears three times in the car just now and I'm a grown man. In fact, this is one of the worst days of my life. I've been suffering for half a week with a kind of ache I've never known."