The Known Balloon

The great science fiction author Frank Herbert once said:

One must pose a question before one can explore for its answer. Luckily, the pursuit of answers to known questions invariably leads to a multitude of new questions. Science is therefore self-sustaining. The pursuit of knowledge through scientific theorizing and experimentation guarantees an endless supply of new problems to solve. This may discourage some, in that every answered question leads to many more questions. However, this is discouraging only if one focuses upon the answers. I prefer to focus on the ever-unfolding questions, for the pursuit of knowledge is significantly more important than the attainment of it.

Here's a little thought experiment: imagine you have a partially-inflated balloon. Imagine further that the volume contained within the balloon represents all the knowledge mankind has amassed at present. The space outside the balloon represents the unknown. The balloon itself - the boundary between what we know and what we don't know - is particular interesting, for it represents our current view of the unknown. That is, the surface of the balloon represents the total set of questions we are now asking and for which we do not yet have a satisfactory answer. It's the problems we're working on now. As Carl Sagan said:

As our knowledge expands through scientific inquiry, the balloon expands. But notice that the surface of the balloon grows as well. As it does so, it enables us to confront not only a new set of questions, but an ever-expanding set. Each discovery makes possible the positing of many new questions. For me, this model encourages humility. Our ever-expanding body of knowledge is impressive, but it pales in comparison to the magnitude of the unknown, always outside, always awaiting discovery. It also reminds me that knowledge is cumulative. New discoveries are almost always built upon previous truths. As Isaac Newton once mused:

Let's strive to always expand the balloon and let's marvel at the new vistas we uncover as we do so. We are the cosmos exploring itself. It is our destiny - our purpose - to expand the balloon. Perhaps we are the only children of the cosmos inside such a balloon, perhaps not. Perhaps there are other intelligent life forms exploring the cosmos, expanding their own balloons of knowledge. Perhaps together we shall expand our balloons to the point where someday they touch, someday they intersect. I believe that would be one of the most important moments in the evolution of the universe.