Month: January 2014

Quantum Mechanics and Enlightenment

Sinister Bend

Science has always been an attempt to understand the world around us. In this way, it is similar to religion and philosophy. In fact, the first modern scientists were called Natural Philosophers. But long before the rise of the Natural Philosopher, people were doing science, even if they didn’t call it that.

The first scientists were spiritualists, seeking to make sense of the universe, but they drew from a much wider pool of instruction than their modern counterparts. We have come a long way since stargazing was the height of academic achievement. But just because we learn new things doesn’t mean there is nothing left for us in ancient beliefs.

One of the greatest explosions of knowledge occurred during the seventeenth century, a period called the Enlightenment. In the West, all sorts of new discoveries were made, from medicine to industry. The school of direct observation triumphed in the scientific…

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