As life forms, viruses are just inherently interesting. It's the microworld - this universe of life too small for us to see - but it's profoundly complicated, and immensely powerful. Ebola is like a beautiful and frightening predator. There is a wonder in the operations of nature that can't be denied, even when we're the losers.
Interpretation
The complexity of viruses reveals the wonders and challenges of nature that are often beyond our perception.
This quote by Richard Preston reflects on the fascinating and complex nature of viruses, highlighting their dual role as both beautiful entities and dangerous predators. It emphasizes the intricate balance of life in the microworld, where even the tiniest organisms can have a profound impact on our lives, eliciting both wonder and fear in humanity as we grapple with their potential consequences.
In practice
A scientist discussing the significance of viruses in a public health seminar.
Scientific facts are often described in textbooks as if they just sort of exist, like nickels someone picked up on the street. But science at the cutting edge, conducted by sharp minds probing deep into nature, is not about self-evident facts. It is about mystery and not knowing. It is about taking huge risks.
Physics has a history of synthesizing many phenomena into a few theories.
The facts will eventually test all our theories, and they form, after all, the only impartial jury to which we can appeal.
The best scientist is open to experience and begins with romance - the idea that anything is possible.
My feeling is that scientific method has the power to account for and interlink all phenomena in the universe, including its origin, using the laws of nature. But that still leaves the laws unexplained.
What I have done is to show that it is possible for the way the universe began to be determined by the laws of science. In that case, it would not be necessary to appeal to God to decide how the universe began. This doesn't prove that there is no God, only that God is not necessary.
Perception plays a vital role in the diagnosis of bipolar illness. Symptoms are perceived through the categories of psychiatric medicine at a given moment in history, categories which are continually shifting and being named or renamed.
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