THINGS MY MOTHER DIDN'T TELL ME AND SCIENTISTS DON'T KNOW

As young children grow up, it seems that their mothers tend to be their repository and dispensary for all information and advice. That certainly was true for me. However, as one ages, one realizes that my mother certainly did not tell me everything. And, as I have looked elsewhere for answers to many questions , I find that science, despite many advances and discoveries, does not know everything either, especially as related to some very basic issues. For example:

WATER

My mother's information about water generally was limited to "take a bath and wash behind the ears." Her explanation of where water came from was to point to the faucet. So, now, when I turn to science to learn the origins of water on earth, I discover that science does not know where water came from. Some scientists think it came from asteroids bombarding the earth. Some believe it originated from the primordial dust that created the earth. They appear to have no explanation any more certain than pointing to the faucet.

LIFE

All that my mother told me about the origins of life was that the stork brought me. Since I still believed in Santa Claus at the time, I accepted this avian explanation as plausible. Thankfully, science has explained everything with great certainty: I evolved from something. However, it is not clear what that something was-- it could have ranged from some minerals washing off rock and the chemicals mixing to create some single-cell creature to some amorphous blob swimming in aquatic life central. Since it is claimed that evolution is ongoing, I wonder what is coming after me. Thank you Darwin.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Mother's dictates on climate change were limited to "put on your boots" in frigid winter and "change your clothes" in sweaty summer. In my world, there was no climate change, but only weather change as the seasons changed. Now, science asserts that we have climate change, not weather change all because their computers say so. I still put on my boots in frigid winter and change my clothes in sweaty summer, so I really don't know what the distinction is between weather change and climate change, and I am not sure whether science knows either.

CONCLUSION

There is one thing that my mother did tell me with clarity: "God made everything and still is in control. That's all you need to know," she said.

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© Daniel J. Kucera 2018