2007-04-09 22:12:15 · 6 answers · asked by rusalka 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
" if you are trying to gain an understanding of what you don't understand " then you are not at ease with mystery.
2007-04-10 10:42:20 · update #1
" if you are trying to gain an understanding of what you don't understand " then you are not at ease with mystery.
I don't think the previous scientists quite got your question, because they all seem to have said something like, "we're not. we want to solve mysteries", which is exactly defined as not at ease, or uncomfortable, with mystery by your quote.
I'm sure you'll actually find as many answers to "Why?" as there are "scientists". Asking "Why?" defines one as a scientist if you use the scientific method to attempt an answer the question.
This, and the fact that you asked a "Why?" question in a public forum, in a way that assures a random though somewhat weighted sample, and are reading and carefully considering all of the answers, makes you a budding young scientist...either a psychologist, or sociologist I'd hazard to guess.
So, the question becomes..."Why are you, a scientist, uncomfortable with mystery?"
2007-04-10 14:53:53 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We aren't. It is the essence of scientific life. All of science is about gaining an understanding of what we don't understand, and organizing this knowledge in meaningful ways so that others can understand it. When a scientist encounters something they don't understand, they are internally motivated to get that understanding and pass it on. That's why some of us contribute to Yahoo Answers. Although most of the questions are from lazy people wanting someone else to do their homework, there is an occasional great, meaningful question. If I don't know the answer, I will spend my time (sometimes even days and weeks) to find it.
We are uncomfortable with people who, upon encountering a mystery, just don't care enough to even think about it. Worse, many just take what someone told them and spout it back, without bothering to evaluate it to see if it represents truth or reality.
2007-04-10 11:53:58 · answer #2 · answered by Frank N 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
None I know are.. For most scientists, mysteries are things that are meant to be solved. I don't see why this is uncomfortable? Most Human beings are the same way. If you want to know how or why something works the way it does... Don't you ask questions or research it? To live in ignorance of something is not the way that the human race evolved civilization.
2007-04-10 05:16:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
They're not! Scientists adore a good mystery, because it gives them something to study. When a subject has been studied so thoroughly that it's lost most of its mystery, it stops attracting new scientists.
2007-04-10 05:15:25 · answer #4 · answered by charmedchiclet 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No, they make living solving nature's mysteries.
2007-04-10 06:25:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps it's just in their nature to want to 'know'. We humans are a curious lot.
Cheers :-)
2007-04-10 05:15:19 · answer #6 · answered by chekeir 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋