Against that positivism which stops before phenomena, saying “there are only facts,” I should say: no, it is precisely facts that do not exist, only interpretations.
Nietzsche Notes (1888)
The boy looking through the bubble like a magic window is a symbol of what is magical in science and human quest for understanding. There are two kinds of science. One is found in books of fact and technical manuals and is useful in the production and maintenance of the artificial world (plastic, computers, chemicals, organic farming etc.). It is a neutral thing with positives and negatives. You can learn and master pieces of it. People have cataloged and defined, identified and categorized, arranged and theorized, and made facts out of mysteries. Naming something and defining some of the processes that go into it does not explain the thing, and often encourages us to accept the mundane surface of a process, object, life form or relationship that contains wondrous levels of depth. It makes life simpler and science easier to teach in the short term.
The other type of science is found in books also, but mostly in experience. It is a process that happens in the mind. It is wonder. It is the jumping off place, the enigma or mystery that creates questions and quests for understanding. Most of the factual, “useful” science known to us now came from this reaching into the mystery. It is what I call Wonder World because so often we go through our days seeing things and processes in world as the labels we put on them. Reading the world like a book instead of seeing the intricate and fascinating complexity that surrounds us every moment. The world is full of magic and mystery. Because people can better use things they define, we have limited our vision of things.
There are no multiple choice quizzes in Wonder World, no pat answers, and sometimes no way to express in words what is going on in your mind when you experience it. But, the experience leads you deeper into the world of possibilities.
Myriad Ways 