Science and the search for meaning

摘要

In my part of the world, if someone asks why the sky is blue, he will be told that it is because God is a Tarheel (that is, a supporter of the University of North Carolina, whose colors are white and a beautiful light blue). If the questioner is a child, that answer will be at least somewhat satisfying. If one gives the child an answer having to do with the wavelengths of light that are absorbed by gas molecules in the atmosphere, the child may find that satisfying, too. On the other hand, his eyes might glaze over-it is possible that this is not the sort of answer he was looking for.