When Knowledge Conquers Fear

I believe that knowledge is most important in bringing understanding and cooperation in our world.  The more I look at conflicts and disagreements the more convinced I am that knowledge and only with knowledge we can solve the many problems in our world.

The question is what is important to know?  I think it is important to understand the physical powers in our world.  It is important to know the basic tools that scientists and historians used to research different phenomena in our lives. 

This idea is very well explained in the TV series “Cosmos- A Spacetime Odyssey” narrated by the astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.  In the episode “When Knowledge Conquers Fear” it is shown how people were so afraid of floods and droughts and invented all sorts of gods and superstitions to overcome this fear.

Worshipping of Egyptian Bull God.

 

"The episode begins with Tyson describing how we were born into this world without an explanation of our surroundings, much like a baby abandoned on a doorstep. To help us learn about our surroundings, Tyson explains how we manifested pattern recognition early in mankind, sharpening over eons of evolution. We distinguished predator from prey; poisonous plants from nourishing ones - enhancing our chance to live and reproduce, and passing on our genes. We used pattern recognition in astronomy and astrology, where different cultures, recognizing the patterns of stars in the skies, projected different symbols and pictures for constellations. We used it to predict the passing of the seasons, including how every culture determined that the passage of a comet was taken as an omen. Tyson continues to explain that the origin of comets only became known in the 20th century.

Tyson then continues to relate the collaboration Edmund Halley and Isaac Newton in the last part of the 17th century. The collaboration would result in the publication of Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, the first major work to describe the laws of physics in mathematical terms, challenging the prevailing notion that God had planned out the heavens. Tyson explains how Newton's work would influence many factors of life, including modern space flight. Tyson further describes Halley's contributions including determining Earth's distance to the sun, the motion of stars and predicting of the orbit of the then-unnamed Halley's comet using Newton's laws. Tyson contrasts these scientific approaches to understanding the galaxy compared to what early mankind had done."

Isaac Newton and his historical publication of the mathematical principles

to describe  the movements of the planets in the universe.

 

Modern day archeologists find plenty of evidence on early humans, studying their bones and teeth and recently even DNA.  Physicists are conducting amazing experiments in the hydron collider to understand the very first event that caused the creation of our universe.  But the more we know, the more we find out there are more mysteries to unravel.  It is up to the most curious brilliant minds to figure out how to prevent diseases from a simple cold to mental illness.  Why do we face so many genocides in each generation?    We all want peaceful lives.  Why do we still have wars?  Some brilliant psychologists will come next and unravel the mysteries of our behavior.  Why is our planet heating up?  We are trying to convince people in power that it is up to us to stop this global warming.

I think the old traditions of faith in god and systems of ethical code of behavior are extremely important in our evolution.  But I cannot see how one faith will declare itself as the ultimate true faith and thus dismiss all the others.  The main goal is for all to understand that the earth can sustain us all and we should use our collective intelligence to cooperate and live in peacefull coexistence.

Know, understand and never fear!