The enigma of life: confronting marvels at the edges of science.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences October 1, 2021 Steve Paulson, Marcelo Gleiser, Tania Lombrozo et al.
Awe and wonder play complex roles in contemporary science, according to physicist Marcelo Gleiser, experimental psychologist Tania Lombrozo, and physician Gavin Francis. The authors analyze how these emotions inform scientists' understanding of phenomena they research, which aspects of science elicit wonder, and whether science redirects innate curiosity toward concrete realities or exacerbates the tension between truth and meaning by revealing the scope of ignorance about ultimate reality. They examine Einstein's claim that the universe's comprehensibility is itself incomprehensible, suggesting scientific explanation alone cannot fully address the human mind's place in the cosmos.