good science is incremental. it surveys the landscape of the Known, identifies a missing piece, snaps that piece into place, and moves on to the next. good science is solid. it is necessary, and predictable. it is filling potholes in the road. it is the realm of the safe.
great science is transcendental. it surveys the landscape of the Known, then delves beneath it to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of the True. great science is impossible to foresee, yet in hindsight completely obvious. it uses the simplicity of facts to describe the complexity of life. great science can not be captured, or commanded, but merely enjoyed for a moment, as a fleeting whiff of clover on the air.
great science is poetry.
"The nearest dream recedes, unrealized.
The heaven we chase
Like the June bee
Before the school-boy
Invites the race;
Stoops to an easy clover—
Dips—evades—teases—deploys;
Then to the royal clouds
Lifts his light pinnace
Heedless of the boy
Staring, bewildered, at the mocking sky."
- Emily Dickinson
[thoughts that ran through my head as I ran through the rain]
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