Why we can’t ever stop wondering...

We have seen so much, we have heard so much, we have sensed so much! We have known; found; and learnt so much! We have discovered, invented, innovated… and whatnot! And still, there’s no end to our wonderment. We humans can’t stop questioning, thinking, exploring and searching for answers. Even the things that we can very well call our very own creations - the man-made objects - make us wonder at our own abilities.

Isn’t it strange that the more we know, the more we feel the need to know? The more we acquire, the more we feel the need to amass? Our curiosity refuses to cease, our desires resist restraint, and our necessities defy all limitations. This innate tendency of ours to “look for more”, all the time, doesn’t seem to let us be at peace with the world. Yet it is this ability to observe, explore and experiment that sets us apart from other species on this planet nevertheless.

English writer and author of the highly imaginative epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) had said (Great-Quotes.com), “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” And that “something” could be an idea, a thought, a belief, a doubt, a perception, a hypothesis or a technology and much more…

But despite this endless search for the truth - the perfect truth, can mankind ever come up with the final solution to any problem?  With a perfect answer to any question? Can anything ever stop us from looking for thatthing and then something else and then again something and yet another and yet again another? Perhaps never!

Life is too complex and the universe, too vast, for us to find perfect answers. There is no end to learning/knowing, and therefore, no end to our desire to explore the world. If anything was perfect, it would spell the end of mankind’s intellectual evolution, and thus, life would come to a standstill. We would be stuck with the old-fashioned oil lamp, steam-powered cars, the outdated typewriter, black and white televisions and so on… If our findings were faultless, there would be no scope for development and life would be much more difficult.

Moreover, no human being is perfect, so how could anything done by them be perfect! Opinions and perceptions differ from person to person. Thus, no human activity can remain completely untouched by personal bias and small operational mistakes. Any effort is bound to be influenced by an individual’s thinking, and therefore, no two persons can ever arrive at the same conclusion.

None of our actions is perfect. Rather, the lack of perfection in everything we do lays the foundation for new endeavours and causes. It is this never-ending quest for knowledge and perfection that gave rise to all innovations in science and technology and led to immense progress in fields like medicine, sociology, psychology and economics. It is mankind’s boundless curiosity and passion for adventure, and thus, the desire to explore that drives the world.

Hence, we can never stop wondering!

Citation:

"J.R.R. Tolkien." Great-Quotes.com. Gledhill Enterprises, 2011. 28 December. 2011. <http://www.great-quotes.com/quote/62797>.