Author: PhysicsEnthusiast

When I was in the sixth grade, my friend and I had an absurd argument. We were trying to determine which is the superior- biology or chemistry. I thought that biology was life, thus making it supreme (everyone has a past). We never really settled the argument and we both held on to our opaque beliefs, respectively. Since then, my philosophical views on science shifted drastically. So, I thought that for the sake of closure, I shall prove us both wrong.

To better explain my argument, I’ll use neurology as a leading example. Let’s start by presenting a neuron. A neuron is generally made up of three main realms: the axon, dendrites, and the soma. Simple biology.

Now, for the neuron to be stable, it needs to be in either a state of equilibrium or a steady state. For this to happen, multiple factors need to contribute for the neuron to exist in a balanced environment. In a nutshell, cations surrounding a neuron’s membrane have to be distributed in a gradient via ion channels. This can be justified by scanning the foundational laws of chemistry.

Finally, neurons need to communicate per the usage of electrical signals. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to do anything at all. In fact, we’d be dead. See, not only can we describe the phenomenon by utilising physics, we can also calculate voltage, resistance, current, etc.

See, my point is this: even though we tend to play the sciences against one another, none of the would be of use without the latter. Physicists point and laugh at engineers, chemists make fun of biologists, and geologists are the butt of every joke. The truth is though, the uniting of the sciences is beyond powerful. Ergo, maybe we should marvel at the beauty of their integrality rather their incongruity.

At the age of 7, I suddenly developed a peculiar interest in dinosaurs. I started asking questions about them and printing pictures off of the internet. This curiosity eventually grew into something much more mind boggling; I developed a sense of admiration for discovery. I started searching for the answers of much more complex questions. Questions my search engine wasn’t magnanimous enough to answer. I fell in love with science.

But what is science? Well, as described by the Oxford English Dictionary, science is the intellectual and practical study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. But I find that definition lacking. Science is much more than a way of thinking, it’s a way of- for a lack of better term, living. Science is art, literature, mathematics, and everything in between.

I’ve been told that I tend to romanticise logic and practicality, but I think all I do is embrace those terms in a rare manner. We are lectured about states of matter, the solar system, the water cycle, and other ranges of topics as kids. Yet we tend to dismiss the ineffable beauty of topics as such.

I am writing this to address natural phenomenon the way it deserves to be taught and described. Science is much more than a system of thought, and I hope we can start treating it as such.