Science--Today's Mythology?

Ancient peoples created all kinds of stories to explain natural occurrences that they did not understand. We now refer to them as myths. Could modern man have his myths also? Could it be called science? To be sure, our scientific world view is probably the best of which we humans are capable. Scientific knowledge is more comprehensive, detailed, and accurate to judge from the fact that it can make predictions, and we can use our understanding of things to modify our environment--go into space, create new tools, medicines, etc. However, the scientific description of things should not be taken too literally because the real world out there may not be anything like we imagine. For example, our eyes can only see a very small fraction of the light out there--radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays are all forms of light we cannot see, but they are out there in the universe. What would things look like if we could see with radiation other than visible light? The chair you are sitting on feels very solid, but in reality it is about 99% empty space. What you feel as solidity is the force of electrical repulsion between the atoms of the chair and the atoms of your bottom. And these atoms are mostly nothing--tenuous energy waves with no real substance. Things look solid only because of the coarseness of our vision.

The point is that the world of things and events are our brain's interpretation of information it receives through our senses and may not bear any resemblance to the real world out there. Our bodies and brains evolved to live, survive, and reproduce like all living things, not necessarily to explore our physical world to figure out how it works. Consequently, we have invented this great myth of science to try to make sense of things. We don't know what is really real out there and what is the creation of our minds. For all anyone knows, the entire outside world could be a dream.

My favorite modern philosophical thinker, Dr. Deepak Chopra, puts it very well in his The Book of Secrets. To paraphrase him, you are not in the world; the world is in you. We are creating every perception that we take as reality. Perception is the world; the world is perception. He illustrates this with the following: Hold a red rose in front of you. Inhale the fragrance and say to yourself: Without me, this flower would have no fragrance. Take in the glowing crimson color and say to yourself: Without me, this flower would have no color. Stroke the velvety petals and say to yourself: Without me, this flower would have no texture. Realize that if you subtract yourself from any sensation--light, sound, touch, taste, or smell--the rose and the world would be nothing but atoms vibrating in a void.