Perception of the Infinity

When we see little, we think little.

And when we think little, We know little…

This develops into a lack of curiosity. Resulting in the impression that what we know, is the ultimate truth. Then out of nowhere, a curious observer arises from small cities of the world, like Pisa (Galileo Galilei), like Ulm (Albert Einstein), to rip this impression apart. They start to ‘see’. They start to ‘think’. And thus, the seemingly real knowledge arises.

In school, we think we are learning science, we think we are studying the happenings in our surroundings. But in reality, we are just looking at an infinitesimally small part of what actually happens.

The so-called science subject until 10^th standard is nothing but ‘facts’. All the stuff we learn in school, especially in physics is just oversimplified-superficial theory and some not-so-cool facts. In chemistry, well most of the atomic theory is falsified in 11^th itself. And trust me, that really gets on your nerve.

Sadly, there’s no other way! It has to be in this boring manner. We can’t just hop into the complex reality. This oversimplified theory, these random facts is exactly what builds our understanding for the upcoming exciting (or horrifying) stuff.

Now you might think, how the fancy mention of cool scientists and lame school-science rant are related. Well, it’s totally related. In school, we are not really seeing and thinking. We are just memorizing the facts for the sake of marks.

We have no freaking idea what’s actually happening while studying science. A small part of the textbook actually tells us about our surroundings, that too in a factual manner. Real ‘thinking’ starts in 11^th. That’s when we actually begin to ‘analyse’ the phenomena, and learn correct (rather most accepted) theories. That’s when we start to learn science.

For those who are fascinated by this analysis, this beginning is intriguing. Surpassing all our expectations, when we learn new, real, exciting things all the time… Every day is a Rancho moment. This is the beginning of ‘knowledge’. When we judge everyday events from the laws of physics, that’s when the real fun starts. Sure, some people struggle through this thinking in the beginning, but when you get a hold of it, there’s no looking back!

Although my friend, even this is not the whole story! Even this ‘thinking’ is not just it. What we learn in 11^th-12^th, is a very ideal part of our chaotic surroundings, neglecting numerous complexities. I believe learning science at any stage is like humans exploring the universe. As human beings, what we know is not all, and maybe it never will be. We know that the universe is infinitely huge. But we still keep going forward. Discovering new stuff every day! I believe the infinity of the universe is exactly what makes the search interesting (or terrifying). Otherwise, one fine day, we would know everything! There will not be anything to know, anything to search for, anything to understand. We, humans, strive to get better, to know more, to experience more… Knowing it all! Doesn’t it sound kind of boring?

Our perception of infinity keeps on changing, expanding. And that’s what makes its search much more compelling. Knowing the endlessness of science, and still going deeper, sinking in the ocean of vastness, even while knowing we’ll never reach the bottom. This feeling of dissatisfaction while having fun, is exactly what makes science even more interesting. Yes, we are learning science now. But there’s a hell lot more to come. We need to humble ourselves for the same, and behold this crazy journey into the unknown!

 

PS. This progression of learning science and relating it with supposed infinity is too overwhelming. This article is for sure messed up. But it’s a humble attempt to express how I’ve been feeling for the past few months. Cheers to all science enthusiasts!