In the nerdiest plight I could manage, I started my summer by attending a physics lecture in cosmology at the local university. It was a public lecture on the origins and understandings of the cosmos, and the physicist, Dr. Neil Turok, did a tremendous job explaining an idea that more people need to hear:
The universe is remarkably simple.
We know enough about its laws to make accurate predictions about anything: positions of stars, movements of meteors and even where our planet will be a billion years from now. We can do all of this thanks to what we’ve learned in science. The details are what we’re still exploring because more discoveries lead to more questions and we’re just so curious as a species.
And this is what I want to defend.
We can predict when two stars are going to collide, the rotation of the galaxies and even when the next meteorite will come flying through our airspace, but you can’t predict what a person is going to do tomorrow. Humans are unpredictable despite the many years of behavioural psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, neuroscience… you name it. We haven’t come close to understanding humanity.
For those wanting to dive into the murky waters of the free will vs. determinism debate, sit tight because I feel we’re being forced into one camp.
The beauty (and ugliness) of humanity rests in our creative thinking and ability to change. Looking back on our inventions, art and ingenuity, we are beings who literally manipulate the cosmos for our own edification and understanding. It’s also remarkable how we can change, even quite drastically without notice.
A prime example is someone close to me who once remarked that being gay is a disease you should go to the doctor to “fix.” Several years later, this same person is defending gay people getting married by responding to a random stranger in line that everyone deserves love. It honestly shocked me.
But this is what’s great and can be wonderful about humanity—we can change our own trajectory.
And this is what concerns me deeply.
The powers that be want us to be as predictable as the rest of the universe. They want to hold the strings that will force us to behave in a certain way, respond on a clear path and follow a set script of their choosing. There is an underlying assumption that human beings are just as deterministic as the rest of the cosmos and therefore, we need to be monitored and spoon fed until we conform to such a way.
Of course, the problem is we’re allowing this to happen because we appreciate comfort and predictability. However, that’s not what we’re about, at all.
If human beings were just as simple as the rest of the cosmos, why haven’t we established a universal code of conduct? Morality is very dependent on culture and we clash over the best way to survive and thrive going forward.
What about Religion? This is the hallmark of my own studies where you find countless stories, ideologies and tenets to provide understanding, comfort and consideration for the unknowable. You will find much overlap in their tenets, but consider the breakthroughs in art and architecture to support these belief systems.
Then you have the arts, which undergo many evolutions as society and technology changes.
In my observation, one of our tragic flaws as humans is we always look towards a leader to guide us, or at least provide some semblance of safety/consistency in our lives. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of deifying our leaders and allowing ourselves be lead by those who embody ambition, corruption and a love of power. I don’t hide my feelings that all politicians are the same, regardless of what “values” they claim to have and uphold. You usually have to strain to think about “good” politicians who actually care for people, only to realize those are the exceptions and extremely rare throughout history.
However, despite this flaw of ours, we’re a pretty remarkable species. We adapt, we move, we create, destroy and rebuild.
We can change, sometimes out of nowhere. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes not. And all of us are great and horrible in our own ways (some tilt towards one side more than the other).
We’re not simple creatures and it’s time we stop pretending that’s the case. We’re complex, complicated and capable.
To be treated as anything less is to be miserable.