Science's Myopia

There is a short-sightedness which plagues science. Somehow as science becomes focused ever-smaller, from peering at small things under electron microscopes to dissecting the properties of single atoms, the scientists forget their excitement.

As a fifth-grader, I had more awe and wonder when my first seed poked out its tender shoot, than I did in college level, stirring up concoctions in beakers and over bunsen burners. Stopping for a moment on a hike to gaze over a mountain vista, I think I grasp the beauty and sheer magic of life much more than I ever did hitting the books.

As science becomes continually more specialized and more downwards focused, it has lost what was most precious about it: the sheer wonder of it all that speaks of God.

I tried to capture some of that lost excitement by putting together a science of cooking class. We made vinegary wine, visited a goat cheese farm, and did pretty cool experiments cooking amino acids. The picture you see is the liquid nitrogen ice cream one student did for her final project. We had fun (and it was a lot of work on my part), but we never got past the getting-excited-about-science piece. Our good friend David Scudder captured the worship part through his website.

In science classes, we are always taught, "isn't that so neat that form follows function?" They always forget to mention the last part: "and doesn't that speak of an awesome God!"

Let's throw off our glasses and look to the heavens! (Sadly, with my poor vision I would only see about five feet.)