The ongoing quest for more knowledge

Whether it’s a serious news story with the latest investigation update or an edgy meme featuring orcas and video-game controllers, we are inundated right now with information about the Titan submersible. There has been no shortage of coverage on the investigation of what went wrong as the deep-water vessel attempted to descend to the wreck of the Titanic, more than 12,000 feet below sea level.

Of all the questions being asked right now, though, the one that has struck me from the very beginning is “Why?” I don’t mean “Why did the vessel implode?” or “Why weren’t more safety measures put in place?” but the broader “Why the attempt in the first place?”

We humans are naturally curious beings. For thousands of years we have sought to understand our world. We race to explore our planets, solar system, galaxy and beyond to find other possible life sources. We dig to the middle of the Earth, searching its miles of rock for information about the past. We dive to the deepest depths of the ocean seeking new life and undocumented creatures.

But why go in the first place? The thrill-seekers among us would say it’s the adventure and mystery that calls mankind beyond the clouds or into the murky waters of the ocean, enticing us to know more. We look at the world around us and want to understand it all.

Others who aren’t so likely to book the next rocket ship into space would say that a complete understanding of our universe isn’t necessary, that we can just admit that there is too much to know and discover in one lifetime. Perhaps we need to be satisfied that a lot of the world remains an enigma to us.

Is there middle ground here? Without the risk takers in this world, we would have no Lewis and Clark, no Neil Armstrong, no Rosa Parks, no Steve Jobs. But the world might still have Martin Luther King Jr., Christa McAuliffe, Steve Irwin, and – most recently – the five aboard the submarine.

Of course I think of the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat,” which cautions us about the dangers of too much questioning or investigation. However, there’s a second part to that saying: “Curiosity killed the cat … but satisfaction brought it back.” That part may just be enough to justify our risk-taking tendencies.

Humans will never cease to be curious. Let’s just hope it leads to more celebrations than catastrophes.

— Annie Wooden