Ok, maybe more chemistry than phsysics but for some unexplainable reason it fills me with some odd sense of satisfaction when scientists realize that we know less than we thought instead of more than we thought.
I'm not sure why I feel like this. I think perhaps it is because it allows us to return to a state of imaginative exploration of the endless possibilities that the future holds. Certainly it's not a subconscious vengegeful reaction against my old smug physics teacher who didn't appreciate when I challenged him on theory vs. fact. But then again, it could be a little bit of A and a little bit of B.
As a chemist, I can attest to the many times I
thought I knew what I was doing, only to find out I didn't know $#!t.
The one thing I have learned over the years is that there is
always more to know, more to learn, and thus, more to apply... so we can find out what else we don't know - that we were sure we did five minutes earlier.
Sounds like a circular argument, eh?
Scott
