When is it time to say, No thanks, I know enough already?
Following the progress of this week's Space Shuttle Discovery, noting the long interuption between space flights, and being reminded that there are two human beings living in space year-round, one can't help but wonder: What are we doing all this for? Why spend all that money?rnTime and time again, we hear about the research and experiments that are at the heart of these missions. And that really is where their justification lies.
Human beings are curious — curious about everything in the natural world. We're explorers by nature and inquisitive by design. We're driven to make sense of our immediate surroundings, and then to make sense of the spiritual, metaphysical and supernatural too.
Medical research. Deep sea exploration. Astronomy. Eienstein's Theory of Relativity. They are all part of the scientific process of research and discovery. Part of what it takes to expand our limits of knowledge.
The problem is… that search for knowledge knows no end. When should humans feel like they know enough that we should stop looking, stop asking, stop questioning? If we're as smart as we think we are, we'll never stop the hunt for more knowledge.
That goes for scientists, but also goes for the rest of us too. It applies to local politicians who should be constantly striving for more and better input. For neighbourhoods who need to find a better way to solve a common problem. For business-people hoping to make a continuing profit in an ever-changing marketplace. For everyone who is human.
That's not to say that endless studies and special commissions might not actually be achieving any added insight. It just means that as people, we can never say that we know enough already so 'no thanks' I don't need to hear any more.
The process is universal and ageless. And it's a healthy one.
