No Matter What We Do

The universe is changing. No, really.  If this comes as a surprise because it seems like the stars are unchanging in the heavens or the seasons come along one right after the other, then step back and take a longer view at the bigger picture. The universe has been changing ever since it began some 13.7 (or so) billion years ago. It grows. It evolves. Stars are born. They die. Their stuff gets scattered out to interstellar space and eventually it gets recycled into more stars or planets (if there’s enough stuff left over after the stars form).  Stars commingle to form huge stellar cities called galaxies. Galaxies wheel through space, sometimes alone, sometimes merging and interacting in beautiful long-term dances that change their shapes forever.

On our planet, things have been changing ever since the place formed. The same goes for the life that thrives on Earth. Ever since it formed, it’s been changing and evolving. That’s the nature of physical systems. They change and evolve. That’s the way the universe works. And, good thing that it does.

A static universe would be a boring one, just as static political systems or educational systems or belief systems would be boring. if nothing ever changed, what would be the point of living? Of loving?  Of searching out meaning in the cosmos? It would also be an impossibility.

The physical nature of things mandates change, and it doesn’t matter whether you “believe” in it or not. The universe of physical systems doesn’t care what anybody believes in. It’s independent of belief. It happens whether you like it or not.

So, the role of science (and you knew I was gonna get to this point) is to help us understand that change. To apply our understanding to everything we see in the cosmos — dispassionately and truthfully, without special rules or beliefs or magical powers.   Think about it.