Learn from the mistakes of others

"Intelligent Design", the movement, is a variant of Creationism.

Quaker's are interesting. They have a curious world view. (Not that I claim to know their beliefs particularly well.) There have been many Christians who consider evolution to be part of (their) God's Plan - after all, why not - nothign in the Bible said that change was out (for example, Genesis merely says that living things were created complete, not unchanging).

Back when I was exploring Catholicism, I held a similar view regarding evolution and 'God's Plan'. I walked away when I realised that belief in deity had to be sustained, while evolution didn't require belief - but it did have to be understood. I guess Science as a way of understanding won out for me - once I untangled the two.

Science is not a search for the 'Truth' or a 'Truth', it is a process for understanding and exploring physical reality. It is not equipped, nor designed, nor directed towards any 'greater' understanding. Which is not to say that scientists don't make the mistake of confusing science with other forms of knowing/understanding/exploring.

Because science has challenged, and overthrown, so many long held beliefs over the past few centuries, it is not hard to understand why it is considered to be so threatening to those whose world views are founded upon beliefs (especially unquestioned/unquestionable beliefs). It is also worth recalling that our contemporary science is barely a few centuries old.

In the end, science is a process - a methodology or approach to answering questions - but only certain kinds of questions.

What I best know is that really I don't know anything at all. I only hope to understand a few things along the way.

Socrates (and myself) would agree :)

True wisdom (understanding) is a neverending process. I requires you to be able question your own understanding, your own beliefs - without fear of where that might take you. That's pretty hard for us humans.

I enjoy the journey of learning far too much to want to stop at some arbitrary point of knowing everything. I like being challenged - to reconsider what I whought I knew (though I often don't realise it until afterwards - we're all fallible :) I suspect that has something to do with why I've not limited myself to a single intellectual 'domain', why I've not settled into the first job I landed.

And perhaps it's also why I can be so annoying to some of my academic collegaues (and perhaps why they also like to have me around?). I push boundaries ... and perhaps I expect others to do the same?