When humans want to satisfy their curiosity, they’ll sooner turn to the National Enquirer than the scientist. That’s because most people don’t know in person any lab-coated, frizzy-haired (evidence of an electrifying career), heavily-bespectacled scientists. And because human curiosity is very easily satisfied, the moment a scientist were to chime in with “actually…,” the immediate response is “shut the f^#& up, nerd!” Clearly, the most important work the scientist does is in the lab, not at the communal watering-hole.
Humans have always been curious. We question everything, from natural phenomena to what’s making that strange noise in the conference room behind that locked frosted glass door? Yet, we don’t need to “know” an answer as long as we can make up some narrative that fills in the knowledge gap for us. The juicier the narrative, the more we are invested in the investigation to discover the “truth”. All the better if the “truth” comes with audio-visual evidence and “eye-witness” testimonials, no matter how contrived. If it’s a story we can relate to and share with other interested parties at our community bonding rituals, any explanation is fair game. Besides, we remember what happened to the cat so we don’t ask too many questions.
For the scientist, curiosity is crucial motivation for the start of a journey into real inquiry on a quest for discovery and understanding. A journey on the Scientific Method takes a scientist through Observing, Hypothesizing, Testing, Evaluating Data, Drawing Conclusions, Peer Evaluations – and then at some point after, writing a textbook about it to traumatise the little kids in school with. Is there any other reason most people have grave reservations about scientists in their midst? It’s childhood trauma, trust me.
Anyway, an observed phenomenon has a multitude of probable causes. Through the process of elimination, the scientist tests each probable cause, or hypothesis, to whittle down the most likely one which is supported by the data collected from each test. The scientist who has the most viable hypothesis will then submit their findings to other scientists who carry out their own independent tests to see if they can recreate the same results supported by their own data. When this cosmic alignment occurs, the findings are then shared to the world as “knowledge”, but within the scientific community it’s shelved under the category of “Yet to be Disproven”. For the scientist, understanding is temporary whereas investigation never ends.
Strictly speaking, the primary job function of the scientist is not merely to satisfy curiosity but to deliver a working understanding of the world to the people who live in it. But people have very little use for raw understanding unless they can use it to make their lives better. Taking over from Theoretical Scientists, scientists in Applied Sciences and their Engineering partners make use of their colleagues’ theories to invent practical things for people to use in their lives. The process of invention is no less arduous. Edison is commonly held up as an example of persistent testing of materials that could sustain an electric current long enough to create mass illumination for the world.
Scientists today are working on new methods to upgrade the things we all rely on to make the world function the way we like. They are investigating ways to make things more energy efficient, more ecologically sustainable, deliver faster response times, and manage the vast amounts of information flowing around the world every day. They are investigating phenomena like quantum physics that exist beyond most people’s natural ability to observe, let alone comprehend. But they promise that what they discover might be useful to us in a practical way, though for the moment we have no idea how. But as long as it works, most of us don’t really have the curiosity to learn more.
Human curiosity is mostly satisfied by the storytellers and gossip-mongers among us. The scientist is a special type of human for whom curiosity is an itch that won’t go away with a kiss and a lullaby. Seeking real understanding is their bread-and-butter while the rest of us are happy to gorge on junk food. But while we diss them, stereotype them and call them unflattering names, their job has brought us to where we are today. Most of humanity lives in relative comfort, security and prosperity compared to our ancestors, thanks to what understanding of the world science has brought us.
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Inspired by Singapore-Cambridge GCE ‘A’ Level H1 General Paper (Paper 1) 2025 Question #3