Musings on a Minor Theme

A theme that crept into the foreground a bit just at the end of a conversation this week- what really is useful? Is developing chemistry that furthers the development of H-fuel cells more useful than figuring out how ecosystems can recover from gross traumas like strip mining? Are both these goals more useful than figuring out what happens when electrons collide, or how to more adequately describe the fabric of our universe? Ayn Rand at least provides a basis for discussion in her requiring that we clarify, "useful to whom, and for what?" If the point of my life is 'my life,' and I find life more fulfilling if I feel I understand the Universe more fully, all three of these pursuits are almost equally useful. The chemistry might eventually enhance my ability to have affordable transportation, but it also helps with developing a more complete understanding of the workings of our universe. The ecology is personally fulfilling, and while having the knowledge in my head as to how ecosystem recovery works will be pleasant, seeing a former wasteland returned to a healthy state would be even more satisfying as a visible proof that my knowledge is accurate. Knowing how the universe works at a fundamental level provides the basis for those fundamental stories we tell ourselves, that allow us to feel we understand better how we fit in to everything around us. For me, knowing that there was some singularity in space-time, the Big Bang, and that one way or another the known universe has been expanding outwards, or maybe matter has been collapsing in on itself so that it looks like expansion, or whatever... This story lays the foundation for my everyday life, allowing me to have some perspective as to where I am in space and time in the universe. Obviously I might be happier if I stopped paying attention to physics at some point, since if I was happy with the 'classic' Big Bang theory, I might not want to drill holes in my story with any new ideas, but that would be akin to refusing to hear or see any evidence that the Earth is round, or that stars are huge objects outside our solar system that have no direct ties to Earth. Blinders create a very false sort of happiness.