Many people think that the human brain is structured to solve real-life problems affecting survival and reproduction, not to unravel the mysteries of the universe.
Science has made great progress over the past century, but humanity’s understanding of nature remains extremely limited. Scientists have not been able to combine general relativity with quantum physics, or even determine what dark matter and dark energy – the key ingredients that make up the universe – are.
The Theory of Everything is still too far away for scientists. And there are many other conundrums, including how consciousness arises from mere matter.
Many people think that the human brain is the product of evolution over time. It is designed to solve practical problems affecting our existence and reproduction, not to unravel the structure of the universe.
Science develops extremely fast but has not yet understood the fundamental problems of the universe. (Photo: Shutter).
Therefore, many pessimistic philosophers argue that there are things we will never understand, human science will one day reach its final limit. And maybe we’ve already reached that limit. However, is this the right concept?
According to researcher Maarten Boudry of Ghent University (Belgium), if you think that only humans have the cognitive powers that make us different from other animals, you will not fully understand the theory of evolution of Darwin originally identified Homo Sapiens – intelligent people as just a part of the natural world.
There’s a lot we can’t do with our bare brains. But Homo sapiens is a tool-making species, including a wide range of “cognitive tools”. Thanks to that, people can expand their understanding.
For example, our sensory organs cannot detect UV rays, ultrasonic waves, X-rays, or gravitational waves. But if equipped with some compatible technology, you can realize all of that.
To overcome cognitive limitations, scientists have developed a set of tools and techniques such as microscopes, X-ray films, Geiger counters, radio satellite detectors, etc.
Humans have created methods and devices to enhance our senses. (Photo: Bloomberg).
All these devices expand our understanding by “converting” the rules of physics into some format that can be perceived by human sensory organs. In fact, are we already sensing UV rays? In a way, it could be said.
In a similar way, we use physical objects (like paper and pencils) to increase the memory “capacity” of the naked brain. According to British philosopher Andy Clark, our mind is completely beyond the skin and skull, it appears in the form of a laptop computer, computer screen, maps or archive files, etc.
Math is another great way to expand awareness. It allows humans to express concepts that we cannot think of with our bare brains.
For example, no scientist has been able to chart all the complex interwoven processes of the climate system. That’s why humans have built mathematical models and computers to do the heavy lifting for us.
Most importantly, we can expand awareness and communicate to our fellow human beings. What makes humanity unique is that we have culture, especially cultural knowledge accumulated over time. A population of human brains is much more intelligent than any individual brain.
No scientist can unravel the mysteries of the universe on their own. But the team can do it. As Isaac Newton wrote, he could see beyond standing on the shoulders of giants. By collaborating with colleagues, scientists can expand their understanding faster than any individual activity.
Our uniqueness is a culture accumulated over time. (Photo: Shutter).
Fewer and fewer people today understand what’s going on at the pinnacle of theoretical physics – even physicists. The unification of quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity certainly poses many difficulties, otherwise scientists would have accomplished it long ago.
The same holds true for the human understanding of how the brain develops consciousness, meaning and intention – intentionality, one of the most important concepts of phenomenology (the branch of philosophy that studies structure) of perception and consciousness).
But is there any good reason to assume that these problems will forever remain out of reach?
Researcher Maarten Boudry posits an interesting hypothesis. An alien anthropologist visited Earth about 40,000 years ago to prepare a scientific report on human cognitive potential.
Will apes understand the structure of the Solar System, the curvature of space-time, or even the evolutionary origins of humanity itself.
At that time, when our ancestors lived in small groups by hunter-gatherer methods. Despite possessing a fairly extensive knowledge of plants and animals in the surrounding environment as well as the knowledge to survive, our ancestors had no concept of science.
They don’t have writing, don’t know math, don’t own artificial devices to expand their sensory organs like UV-sensitive devices, temperature sensors…
As a result, the alien anthropologist assessed: “Humans know nothing about the real causes of natural disasters, diseases, celestial bodies, changing seasons or any other natural phenomenon. . The cognitive potential of this species is very low.”
Whether we are alone in the universe or not will still be the most curious solution. (Photo: Phys).
But that alien is completely wrong. Biologically, humanity is not much different than it was 40,000 years ago, but now we know about bacteria and viruses, DNA and molecules, supernovas and black holes, the electromagnetic spectrum, and more.
We also know about space-time curvature, Einstein’s theory of general relativity. We have been able to “see” objects that are millions of light-years away, even extremely small objects (bacteria, viruses, subatomic particles, …) that are beyond our reach. human sensory organs.
The above hypothetical story is the driving force for the development of mankind. Who knows what upcoming devices might overcome our biological limitations? Who dares to say that a problem will never find a solution?