Certainty about Uncertainty

It is said that the only ‘Constant’ in this world is ‘Change’.

Language, customs, culture, rules, people, and just about everything changes with time.

On a similar lines, I wonder if the only ‘Certainty’ about life is its ‘Uncertainty’.

Constant about Change. Certainty about Uncertainty.

A sportsperson, Philip Hughes from Australia dies on the Cricket field after being hit by a cricket ball. Till that moment no one had ever thought or imagined that someone could die like that on a Cricket field.

It was reported later that had the ball struck a millimeter here or there, he would probably have been saved. Why did it happen to him? Why did it happen to anyone for that matter?

No one knows.

MH 370 simply vanishes from this world and notwithstanding the numerous conjectures, no can say for sure what happened to it. Did someone shoot it? Did someone kidnap it?

No one knows.

Nepal, India, and surroundings are rocked by an earth quake. They are rattled with another earth quake, albeit of a lighter intensity the next day. Will there be more? When will be the next quake? Where will be the next quake? Why did those people die? Why are so many people suffering?

No one knows.

 

As school children, we are exposed to so many subjects in school. One of them is Science. As students of science we often tend to believe (or are made to believe) that there has to be some ‘rationale’ or ‘logic’ or ‘scientific explanation’ for everything.

Science can explain everything. Or can it?

What is Science?

Is it the same Science which made people believe some centuries ago that Earth is the center of Universe?

Or is it the Science which told us that there is a Solar System and that Earth moved around the Sun?

Or is it the Science which now tells us that Earth does not revolve around the Sun but instead Earth, Sun, and all other planets are revolving around the center of the Solar System (New Theory)?

Like everything else, does ‘Science’ also change with time?

I believe that it does.

What we ‘know’ today, we didn’t probably knew previously. And what we don’t know today, we may probably ‘know’ some other day.

Can ‘Science’ be uncertain?

Can we be certain that what we know today about anything is the “truth”?

Intake of sugar is bad for diabetes? Or is it that intake of carbohydrates is what is more important? Or is it about low glycemic index (Low GI) food and high glycemic index (High GI) food? Or is there some other explanation which may yet take time for ‘Science’ to discover?

I don’t know.

Coming back to the point I am trying to make, Life is so uncertain. No one knows the ‘What’, ‘Why’, “How’, and ‘Where’ of things which keep on unraveling around us. While in some instances, we can explain some of the above questions (like for example ‘How did Philip Hughes die?’ and “Why did this Earthquake happen?’), there are instances where we just don’t know (like for example ‘Where will be the next Earthquake’?). The field of Science and technology has witnessed tremendous progress and achievements in the last century and our life today is much more comfortable in many aspects that those of our forefathers. But in spite of all scientific tools at our disposal, we need to remember that beyond a certain point we are mere humans and there is a limit to what we can ‘know’ and ‘control’.

There is so much we don’t know about nature, about environment, about atmospheric processes, and about zillion other things one can think of. No doubt as Humans, with the aid of Science, we will try as ever to find more about what we don’t know. But we must realize that there would be times where we will have no ‘logic’ or ‘scientific explanation’, and we can remain mute spectators.

Nature is much more powerful, much more resourceful than us humans, and such tragic incidents only reinforce this reality. At such moments, all we can do now is to provide comfort and medical assistance to those affected, pray for the departed souls and for those suffering, and pray to the Almighty to give us strength to overcome these turbulent times.

Resilience, after all has been a distinguishing feature of Human Spirit.And it is this Resilience that gives me hope and comfort during this uncertain time.

Certainty about Uncertainty and Resilience.