Given all that we have discovered about our world till now, it might be very easy to delude oneself into thinking that there's nothing left to explore. Even though I cannot claim to be involved in scientific research at this point, I do like knowing about it, and I fall into this pitfall myself, every few years. Reading some articles (or books, as of now) is like a refreshing snap into reality.
But then I thought up an analogy for scientific advancement – navigating a maze. (Yes, Potterheads can go ahead and think of the Triwizard Tournament maze.)
The end of the maze is a new level of understanding, where all immediate questions are answered (notice the use of immediate). No one has an aerial view of this maze, but this is a maze that humankind created for itself. There is no disguised villain to tell the "Harry" inside each of us where the end is. But the trophy is a Portkey – it takes us to the next scientific quest.
It's a treacherous maze. There are deadly traps that seem like the right way, but aren't; lots of misdirections; and straight–up traps. You could fall into one of these traps and think, "Oh, I've solved it all", only to find a fellow scientist pass by, stomp his foot, and say, "That's the fifth time I've passed through here!", successfully removing you from your high horse (that you climbed accidentally, you promise!).
People spend their lifetimes in this maze, at different paces, falling for different tricks. Many die before reaching a breakthrough, which can be thought of as a sign in the maze that you're going in the right direction (a breakthrough, that is).
There are people who are ahead of everyone else, people who prevent others from going ahead, and people who change course in the middle of the maze. And many die at dead ends (no pun intended).
But given that this maze was made by humans for humans, some even find it a pleasure navigating it.
Happy journey!
