Some people believe that scientific discoveries have given us a much better understanding of the world around us. Others believe that science has revealed to us that the world is infinitely more complex than we ever realized.

The statement asserts that the people’s belief on scientific discoveries is bifurcated. While some believe that much better understanding has been conferred on humans by discoveries, others believe that discoveries have revealed the weakness of human toward conceiving the world and its infinite complexity. In what follows both views will be discussed and in the end my position will be delineated.

To begin with, many are those who believe in the extended understanding that discoveries have brought to us. Discoveries answer the “why” and “how” questions. Having known the answers to certain questions, we understand the cause and effect relations of phenomena, and we can control them in the way we want. From the beginning of the human civilization, humans were thirsty of controlling everything. Therefore, they made gods to sacrifice for them to indirectly control the rain, diseases and so on. As discoveries go further, the understanding of humans about phenomena changes toward the point that people did not need to wait for gods to provide rain, while scientist had discovered that clouds can be fertilized and rain. With the discoveries of the bacterial life cycle, myriads of the infectious diseases were cured because of better understanding given by scientific discoveries. Hence, these people believe that scientific discoveries have given us a better understanding of the world around us.

On the other side of the spectrum of opinions, people believe that scientific discoveries reveals the weakness of humans and the ever complex system of universe. With answering “how” and “why” questions, we face many other new challenging questions to answer. Furthermore, as the theories are expanded, the established concepts become more controversial. For illustration, consider the Einstein’s “bastard” theory: quantum mechanics. Albert Einstein consigned himself to the reconciliation of the quantum mechanics with the other theories, but he failed to do that. So by the new discoveries, these people believe, more complexity and more obfuscation would be accompanied.

As far as I am concerned both of views hold true. Discoveries have allowed us to leap into better understanding of the universe. With discoveries we have survived from benighted thoughts and we seek cures instead of magic or resort to the gods. At the same time, by answering a scientific question, we face other challenging questions. Such challenges provoke the curious spirit of human beings to discover more and more and not to seat freely with ease and content.

In short, yes, it is the infinite challenges that we are facing toward the understanding of the universe, but this does not mean that discoveries does not confer on us understanding about the world. Both views, as it is discussed in the paragraphs, holds true; scientific discoveries constantly help us understand more realms of the world and at the same time they show us the long way we have yet to perceive the universe significantly.