Why Science?

The Cosmic Microwave Background is the name we give to remaining radiation from the universe in its first few hundred thousand years. Radiation emitted at that time is over thirteen billion years old and has, therefore, been stretched from wavelengths within the visible light range to longer wavelength microwaves due to the continuous expansion of the space in which they exist. The most accurate map ever of the CMB was published last year by the ESA and cosmologists believe it will give us an insight into early galaxy formation as well as giving further credence to the Big Bang Theory itself. The image was created by information gathered by the Planck satellite over a period of 18 months during which it scanned the entire visible universe for fluctuations in the characteristic background radiation. The colour represents the varying temperatures and hence energy levels of particular areas of the universe which allows scientists to understand quantum fluctuations in the postulated inflation phase of the universe. More recently, a research team based at the South Pole observed polarization patterns in the CMB that are compelling evidence of this rapid inflation phase – and therefore of the standard model of cosmology.

The imaging of the CMB is not the first breakthrough regarding mapping to be made in science. It does, in fact, follow a long list of endeavours to plot and make sense of our surroundings. In the 16^th century Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the model of a heliocentric universe in which Earth and the planets orbited the Sun – opposing the current model with Earth at the centre of the universe. In 2001 the project to map the entire human genome culminated in revolutionary reports that may pave the way to eradicating hereditary diseases. In the interim, humans have mapped star constellations, the human circulatory system, Earth’s plate tectonics, the global food web and the atomic nucleus. The map of the surface of the Earth is yet another example of the human desire to plot and collate the things we know.

This poses the question: why do we seek to do this? The obvious answer is that many of these maps allow us to live more effectively as a species. For example: Knowing where each country is in relation to each other makes it far easier to travel between them; the alternative is to simply move aimlessly checking each country. However, whilst a map of the Earth has obvious and direct uses, many of the more complex and obscure maps seem to have far fewer practical applications. One can quite justifiably look at much of modern science and question its relatability to every day life. You may know that the helium inside your birthday balloons contains two protons, two neutrons and two electrons and that each proton contains 3 quarks – two of which are ‘up’ and one of which is ‘down’. But does this knowledge actually improve your birthday balloon experience? Does there need to be a foreseeable real-world benefit for trying to understand something?

Firstly, it is important to realise the parallel nature in which science and society progress. At the time when scientific discoveries are made, applications of that particular bit of science don’t exist. This is either because the application hasn’t been imagined yet or the technology isn’t available to integrate the science into consumer goods. Science will, therefore, always be in front of mainstream society so although discoveries made now may seem without purpose, the applications could appear in the near future.

Secondly – more subtly – we can analyse the point of understanding irrespective of application. As an intelligent, developed and civil species humanity no longer has to expend its energy finding means to survive so we apply our brains to academia. When we analyse the point of existence it is clear that what we consider to be ‘useful’ in society is only useful because we have defined the word in such a way within our social construct. To only examine the usefulness of something against our current meaning of the word is short-sighted. If, instead, our social construct is torn away then very few certainties are left but one of them is knowledge and understanding. If we accept that the perceivable universe is in fact some sort of reality then analysis of it is surely one of the most profound and fundamentally useful things humans can do. I would argue that the measure of a species’ development is intimately linked to its understanding of the environment in which it lives. The process of working things out makes future humans smarter. Whether it is our ability to spot patterns, manipulate mathematics in new and intricate ways or simply hypothesise with greater imagination and zeal. Since conquering the survival phase of development, abstract and seemingly absurd academia is what enhances human beings.

If science were to degrade to a point where it only endured to serve the wants of money driven, pleasure-seeking society its profundity dissipates and our progression as a species decelerates. It follows that understanding for the sake of understanding can be a cause for science, however real life applications are a welcome consequence.