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Introduction

Humankind is an impressive and imposing species. We can think and dream at levels far beyond any other life-form on Earth. But for all our gifts, we will never really know ourselves or come close to our intellectual and creative potential so long as most of us continue to suffer critical gaps in fundamental knowledge. How will we make wise decisions regarding complex challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, population growth, pollution, viral pandemics, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and energy needs when most people do not even know how old the universe and the Earth are, how brains work, and what everything is made out of? For example, at a time when drug-resistant germs are becoming more common, 45 percent of American adults don’t even understand that antibiotics work on some species of bacteria but not on viruses. Among Europeans, 54 percent don’t know this, while 72 percent of Japanese people and 82 percent of Russians don’t. Empowered by the scientific process, humankind has made many difficult and spectacular discoveries. It is tragic that so few people are aware of these achievements and fail to utilize this available knowledge. Imagine how different our world might be if most people were to make consistent use of scientific facts and, more important, scientific thinking to benefit themselves and their societies!

The United States is one of the world’s leaders in science education, and yet less than 40 percent of American adults possess the minimal knowledge necessary to read and understand the New York Times science section. One survey found that only about 44 percent of Americans could give a brief correct explanation of what DNA is, and 80 percent did not know what stem cells are. Virtually all physicists, cosmologists, and astronomers know that the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago with the Big Bang, but only 21 percent of the American public are aware of this fundamental fact. A mere 27 percent understand that the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old. All of this matters because evidence-based knowledge impacts, if not determines, the range of our vision, the quality of our thoughts, the success of our actions, and perhaps even our ability to appreciate existence.

We are condemned to navigate in darkness when we do not base our most important decisions on the best-available facts and theories. The purpose of this book is to focus readers on simple questions with profound answers. These are the queries that have great relevance to our lives and worldview. Answering them to some degree, from the scientific perspective, can improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of our ideas and actions. This is the necessary knowledge with the power to enhance the lives of individuals and elevate the quality of our societies.

My goal is to leave you not only more informed about who you are, where you come from, what is going on around you, and so on, but also feeling differently about yourself, the life you share the Earth with, and the entire universe. We tend to place so much emphasis on immediate and practical uses of knowledge—pass a test, build something, perform a task—that we miss the usefulness and emo-tional power of fundamental knowledge about the reality in which we find ourselves. It is common for scientists and rationalists to warn people about the danger of emotions clouding thought processes and derailing our ability to reason well. I certainly have done this in some of my previous books. But let’s not make the mistake of condemning all emotion all of the time. Learning basic facts and concepts about ourselves and our surroundings can stimulate and inspire. Don’t fight it. Get excited! Let your emotions soar as you read this book. Allow yourself the freedom to find more passion for life in the scientific knowledge presented here. Such awareness can leave us feeling more alive and more awake as human beings. As we will see later, exploring, learning, and imagining are very human traits. They have been with us for a long, long time. Somewhere within you there is a logical scientist and a wild-eyed, emotional dreamer. This book takes aim at both.

The chapters ahead do not contain collections of science trivia or fringe facts for fleeting self-amusement. Nothing here is meant to be conversation fodder for impressing friends. This is the important stuff, the foundation from which further learning should grow. The topics covered here are relevant to your existence as a highly intelligent life-form in the twenty-first century. I believe that the information contained in this book has the potential to make anyone’s life richer, fuller, and more exciting. This book is your chance to catch up and fill in some of the gaps that you may have in your understanding of the most important things, events, and processes of all.

No one should feel embarrassed about having forgotten or never learned who are our distant ancestors are, when the universe and the Earth were formed, how atoms work, why microbes matter, and so on. While striving to make good grades, land a job, achieve social acceptance, and find a mate, many smart and hardworking people rush right by this fundamental knowledge. Ignorance on these matters does not necessarily have anything to do with intelligence or work ethic. Let’s not waste time blaming ourselves, our parents, our schools, or society in general for things we do not know. Let’s get busy learning instead. I hope you enjoy exploring the essential science within this book. May it inspire and enhance your life.


Guy P. Harrison
Now
Earth, Milky Way, Universe