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Laura Gilroy's picture

Brian Greene's Article

While I thought most of what Greene said in his article hit on some important points regarding the importance of science in and out of the classroom today, one quote in particular really stood out to me:
"It’s the birthright of every child, it’s a necessity for every adult, to look out on the world, as the soldier in Iraq did, and see that the wonder of the cosmos transcends everything that divides us."
Not only does Greene accurately sum up the vital nature that science should play in the lives of all humans here, but he points this out in almost a spiritually minded way. He explains in his article how science helped a soldier in Iraq develop a sense of clarity and stay sane despite everything going on in his life. The principles and conclusions this soldier drew from science can also be used by the "rest of us"- children and adults alike, to look at life through lenses created by the perspective and understanding gained through science. Despite constantly being changed and improved, science is fact and will always be there to explain life and what goes on in the world, and in fact it does transcend most all else. Should the entire human population be destroyed millions of years from now, science and the basic tenets of life will always remain. Reading Greene's argument was both comforting and encouraging for me, as a student of science, because it made me realize that I probably won't ever truly understand everything I would like to regarding science, but thats ok.. as long as I keep exploring and keep questioning.

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