31 December 2025 – Hogmanay

We live in a Universe which is exceedingly complex. So much of what happens on a daily basis is still a mystery not only to us but to the scientists too. ‘Things Scientists don’t Know Yet’ is a book for children with the subtitle, ‘The Unsolved Mysteries of Science’. It is written by Peter Gallivan.

There are no less than thirty-three things which scientists don’t know yet covered in the book. Some of them are very surprising. Scientists don’t know how sunflowers follow the sun or the size of the universe or why humans age or how bicycles stay upright?

Or why do we laugh?  Babies laugh when they are very young. We tend to laugh when other people are there. It is a social activity. Perhaps it strengthens the bonds between people. ‘It could be that we laugh simply because it is good for our health.’ says Gallivan. As it says in the Bible, ‘A cheerful heart is good medicine.’ (Proverbs 17;22)

Or could time travel become a reality? It is possible in theory but not in practice at the moment. Will it ever be possible to travel back into the past? If so, Gallivan asks the pertinent question, ‘Why aren’t we being visited by time-travelling  humans from the far distant future?’

Or will computers become smarter than humans? They are certainly very fast, performing trillions of calculations per second. But they are still operating under human instruction. AI is a powerful tool but it makes mistakes and sources have to be verified. But it is not imaginative, creative nor able to problem solve like us!

To be creative is to be like God.  The birth of a baby is a remarkable event in the life of two parents. Imagination is able to create new  worlds unknown and unseen before. In any situation, problems arise and need to be solved. This is a very satisfying human gift which brings pleasure, fulfilment and  peace.