The Knowledge Paradox
Science has always been a close companion of mine; physics soon became my best friend. I was fascinated by the theories and discovery of laws that eventually shaped the civilization we have today. From the chemistry of cement making, to the laws of gravity, to the human genetic coding and the principle of moments. The deeper I delved into the theories, the more fascinated I became with the ever-expanding field of thought called science.
Yet, there has always been a question that has bugged my mind. For years, I have pondered on this concept. Most of my time as an engineering undergrad was spent in the library trying to find answers to these questions.
The law of conservation of energy states that “in an isolated system, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but changes from one form to another.” The implication of this law is that the total energy of an isolated system is constant. This further implies that the total energy at the beginning of the system would be the total energy at the end of the system.
From science, we are made to believe that the universe itself is an isolated system; hence the total energy in the universe is constant. Broadening this thought, you would realize that the efficiencies we attain in the field of engineering is primarily aimed at maximizing our ability to keep energy in a particular form which is beneficial for the purpose of which it was originally intended. Then comes the question, can we measure the total energy of the universe? Can we back track and find the source of this energy in it’s purest form? What was the original form of the energy that created the universe? Was time created by this process? If yes, can we harness time as one of the forms of energy?
The more we learn by observation, the more we see the hand of a creator. The major question I ask my fellow scientists is what created the singularity that led to the “Big Bang?” What was so powerful that it created the universe as we know it? And before the singularity, what existed?
If most of our laws were by observation, do these laws apply to the parts of the universe we can’t observe? How universal are our laws?
The more we know, the more we realize how much there is to know. This is the great paradox of human existence; to knowledge there is no end, and to discovery there is no finish line.
