There is most likely a public conception that as science advances, the underlying nature of the universe becomes better understood. in other words as science advances, mystery should dissipate.
But in truth, the opposite has occurred. At the beginning of the twentieth century physicists were convinced that there would be no new breakthroughs in scientific thought. The universe was regarded as a giant machine. All the laws of nature were felt to have been discovered and mystery had all but vanished.l
The brilliant minds of physicists including Planck, Bohr, Heisenberg, Einstein, and a host of others radically upset that fantasy.
Relativity theory and quantum theory proved to be scientifically and mathematically true. But the nature of reality they described were incredibly complex and counter intuitive.
We are faced with a universe in which scientific advances have brought more mystery, not less!
An interview with physicist Leonard Susskind in July's issue of Scientific American confirms this paradox.
The desire to understand the nature of reality is the metaphysician's quest. Yet the most brilliant of theoretic physicists such as Susskind are backing off any attempt to explain what that reality is. They have declined the attempt to make sense of what they know.
As three dimensional creatures (four if you include time) how can we possibly wrap our minds about 10 or 11 dimensions of String Theory's multiple universes?
Susskind is quoted as stating that we are "….prisoners of our own neural architecture." Perhaps we will never be able to "understand" where the mathematics of advanced physics takes us.
But perhaps someday we will. Who can say?
Mystery remains. So let us continue the quest. Perhaps this acknowledgment that it persists will allow us to continue our serious investigation of the nature of the spiritual and paranormal.
We need to be rational and critical of what is offered up as paranormal truth. But even science is forced to come to terms with the mystery that cannot be explained.
I suspect that much of what we term the spiritual universe may someday be explained as a mysterious dimension of unusual vibrational energy.
I cannot prove that contention. But for the time being no one can dissprove it either.