Plague Journal, Getting To What’s Real
Tuesday evening a few of us “gathered” via virtual video and discussed the role of “awe” or put another way, “wonder” in the scientific enterprise. Science is understood is a method of testing the reliability of a theory, our notions of the way things are/work. This is difficult at best. Scientists, all those who earn a livelihood by conducting experiments, can attest that the process is similar to a small boy who loses his prized pocket knife somewhere in his back yard. The child will search for the lost object, for days if necessary until it is found. Research is like that. Experimental work is done with tenacity, until a theory is confirmed, or dis-confirmed with high probability. The work is done with high anticipation. The sought after solution can be teased from Nature, as much is understood about Nature from the labors of generations of scientists who have come before. Nature is predictable and thus mathematics is the beautiful language of science. At conclusion of days of work in the lab or in the field, when the results are all in, tabulated — the sought after solution becomes clear.
There’s deep satisfaction, even awe: “So that’s how it is!”
It might take days, months to set up an experiment, and just a few seconds to execute the process, in order to see the result. The denouement that is sought may be found suddenly. There might be sound and fury, “the solution” revealed in a flash. In such cases there is a rush of excitement and the impulse to celebrate.
Of course what I have written is shorthand for a way-of-life, for a manner of earning one’s living that glosses over years of preparation in school. In addition here’s much reading out of the classroom simply because one has a live interest in the subject matter. The subject may be that of distant star clusters, or of the physics of metals at the atomic level. Unaccountably one falls in love with an aspect of this world, — and the quest begins.
I read somewhere a quotation from Ray Bradbury. He said that the secret to living was learning how to fall in love, and stay in love. Something to love is something to live for.
As for the tune to serve as inspiration parallel to our topic, I suggest this one…
Jump
by Van Halen
I get up
And nothing gets me down
You got it tough
I’ve seen the toughest all around
And I know
Baby, just how you feel
You’ve got to roll
With the punches to get to what’s real
Lyrics written by: David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen, Edward Van Halen
2 thoughts on “Plague Journal, Getting To What’s Real”
Can’t help but think of the Hadron Collider, the billions of dollars spent on construction, and the decades planning and building this massive structure for the main purpose of discovering if the Higgs-Boson particle actually exists. Yes, of course there are many other experiments taking place at the Hadron, but from the start, the Higgs project was of particular interest. Once the huge circular collider was complete and everything was in place, the experiment took only a fraction of a second to complete. They ran it over and over to make certain their conclusions were correct, but there it was, clear evidence that the Higgs-Boson particle was not just theory but reality. The scientists working on this project were nothing short of giddy, but certainly awe was a great part of their reaction as well.
What would I have given to have been anywhere in that room, when the result came in? An ineffable moment.