Systemics

It's all related. All of it. Everything we've learned so far indicates that there is a connection between quarks and planets, matter and energy, the search for truth and the peculiar tendency toward self-deception. That doesn't mean "everything is true or correct." It's just that it's all connected.

Maybe the sought after "theory of everything" won't be as simple or elegant as E=mc^2, but science is looking hard for a reason. Good science is about the pursuit of truth and understanding reality, not the creation of fictions and myths. We are beings capable of thinking deeply about our universe, and it is a better thing to apply that to truth than to simplistic answers lacking in evidence.

I'm not a lecturer or a professional scientist though...I haven't even finished university yet, and have a long way to go. I'm an amateur, but there's no rule that says amateurs can't be involved. No rule that says we can't study, and learn, and ask questions, and try figure out how things work using the vast array of resources now at our disposal. It's probably unlikely that an amateur will be the one to uncover a "Theory of Everything" or achieve the next giant leap in science. There's a reason professionals are professionals.

But it's not impossible. Amateurs can think outside the box (both a detriment and a benefit), can help deal with smaller tasks and discoveries that give the professionals a good push along their way, and can teach what we know as we discover it. We're the ground troops, but that makes it imperative that we keep our facts straight! Most importantly, we have enthusiasm and (I hope) a firm commitment to truth in much the same way as the professionals have. Maybe we're on our way to becoming professionals ourselves...learned people who can understand and clearly communicate how things work.

Just because you're an amateur, don't discount yourself. Do, however, be a scientist. Be ready to surrender your old ideas when new information comes to light, whether it's new only to yourself, or to the whole world. Be prepared to modify your ideas, theories and beliefs, because though everything out there seems to be connected, it's connected in weird, wonderful ways that seldom seem simple to our powerful, though limited minds. Test, experiment, challenge, ask questions, study and strive.

Just because you don't do it full time (well, maybe not yet) doesn't mean you can't contribute to our understanding of the universe at large. We should all go forth. Do our part. After all, to quote the late Carl Sagan, "The earth, and every living thing, are made of star stuff."