The Witness
It is a great adventure to contemplate the universe, beyond man, to contemplate what
it would be like without man, as it was in a great part of its long history and as it is in
a great majority of places. When this objective view is finally attained, and the mystery
and majesty of matter are truly appreciated, to then turn the objective eye back on man viewed
as matter, to view life as part of this universal mystery of greatest depth, is to sense an
experience which is very rare, and very exciting. It usually ends in laughter and a delight
in the futility of trying to understand what this atom in the universe is, this thing —
atoms with curiosity — that looks at itself and wonders why it wonders. Well, these scientific
views end in awe and mystery, lost at the edge in uncertainty, but they appear to be so deep
and so impressive that the theory that it is all arranged as a stage for God to watch man's
struggle for good and evil seems inadequate.
- Richard Feynman
