How Little We Really Know

Richard Aberdeen
3 min readNov 27, 2023

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How Little We Really Know
How Little We Really Know — Element5 Digital — Unsplash

Astrophysicists say that all human understanding breaks down inside of a black hole at what is called a singularity, where neither human mathematical understanding, classical physics or quantum mechanics can adequately explain the origin of or true nature and of reality and the universe. Although this is true, it remains somewhat misleading, implying to the poorly educated that up to that point, science pretty much has it all figured out.

The truth is, human beings caught within a three-dimensional plus time tiny earth-based perspective, know very little about what is actually true compared to what we have yet to learn. This is true regarding virtually everything about life and the universal reality we inhabit, including the human mind, which some researchers differentiate from our brains; our brain from such a view being only part of a larger inner self and conscious awareness whole. While some may scoff at this, neuroscientists and other researchers strongly disagree among themselves regarding differences of mind, self, soul and the human brain.

Even though there are believed to be more viruses than all other forms of life on earth combined, science today admits we know almost nothing about them compared to what we do not know. In fact, it is currently believed science has accounted for only a small percentage of the total number of living forms of life that we continue to discover on the land, underground, upon and within other life forms, in the air and in and beneath the water.

Things as common and basic to our survival as water and light remain poorly understood at best. While some scientists say that nothing is one hundred percent certain in science, it remains a very safe bet that there remains an astronomical amount of unknown knowledge yet to learn, just about our own mind and inner being.

Some educators decry what may fairly be called our very bad habit of dividing reality up into neat often non-intersecting categories like history, science, religion, philosophy, mathematics, politics, literature and so on. Continuing to educate our offspring in such a divisional often non-connected manner, tends to create a tremendous amount of bias and confusion, clearly revealed in modern voting booths, where well-meaning fathers and mothers vote against the best interests of their own offspring.

In reality, it isn’t possible to separate a scientist’s or historian’s philosophical, religious, political and moral opinions and culturally induced bias from his or her historical and scientific analysis and conclusions, any more than we can separate water from what we need to survive. It is fair to say for example, that Albert Einstein’s scientific and other research along with his life experiences, eventually turned him into a pacifist and strong advocate for human rights and global peace.

Unlike most ancient and most modern writings, several authors of the Bible attempt to address our human limitations and lack of understanding as best they can within the boundaries of human language. Within its pages, we find a profound description of our Creator’s love, a description often quoted by authors and other intellectuals and even admired and revered by many atheists and agnostics.

We find in the Old Testament Isaiah and Amos and New Testament Jesus, the foundation for modern human rights, also often admired and revered by the same. Many people in the modern age seem to have a difficult time grasping one of the more obvious lessons of life, which is like Jesus and the authors of the Bible teach us, as we think and intend inside, so are we.

According to the Bible, we are fearfully and wonderfully made and we know nothing compared to what we ought to know and have yet to learn; not only about God, but about good and evil, human behavior and life itself. Unlike modern intellectuals often deceiving themselves in their own pride and arrogance, the biblical authors dare to write that our Creator’s intelligence, love and peace (and presumably everything else about our Creator), are beyond all understanding.

This is not as some might have us believe, an example of poor understanding because of the comparatively limited scientific and other knowledge of their time. Rather, it is very plainly the truth today, attested to by many 21st Century scientists and other researchers themselves.

“If anyone thinks they know anything, they know nothing yet as they ought to know.” — I Corinthians 8:2

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