This post is in response to my little sisters post on Existentialism that can be found here
Are parabolic functions inherently meaningless in our lives? I used to be like Amy (who I love more than life and respect like crazy). I was going to major in music, humanities, or ancient middle eastern studies. I wanted to study meaning and people; existence if you will. Music, theater, and literature are beautiful and brilliant and I will always appreciate literature and art in my life. Singing, reading great books, and learning more about art will always be a part of me, but right now, I am a scientist and I have something to say.
This earth is the ultimate expression of meaning, it is God's art. I love Raphael but who is he to God? The understanding of science and math is beautiful and rich with meaning. It is the meaning. It is the reason that we can live and be, the reason we exist at all. God's great work of art is dynamic and awesome. Because it is not paint on canvass it takes years and patience to appreciate. Everything that we have learned about math and science from the time we are in first grade is building up to something, something beautiful and grand. It just takes a really long time to get there. The truth is that we won't ever get there completely in this life but we will have spent our time in pursuit of understanding ourselves. Every step we take towards that ultimate truth, no matter how small, is a step towards true beauty.
I am not saying that you are wrong Amy. I am saying that math and science aren't the ugly things that people think they are. They are subtle, beautiful, and meaningful. Math and science majors get a bad rap from music and humanities types and vis versa. I think that our disciplines are more alike than we know and we should appreciate what each has to offer. I know that you weren't saying that we shouldn't but I guess this was something that I felt like getting up and shouting about.
