6. It is hard to predict how science is going to turn out, and if it is
really good science it is impossible to predict. If the things to be found
are actually new, they are by definition unknown in advance. You cannot
make choices in this matter. You either have science or you don't, and if
you have it you are obliged to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces
of information, along with the neat and promptly useful bits.
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally
confident is that we are profoundly ignorant about nature. Indeed, I
regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology.
It is, in its way, an illuminating piece of news. It would have amazed the
brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment to be told by any of us
how little we know and how bewildering seems the way ahead. It is this
sudden confrontation with the depth and scope of ignorance that represents
the most significant contribution of the 20th century science to the human
intellect. In earlier times, we either pretended to understand how things
worked or ignored the problem, or simply made up stories to fill the gaps.
Now that we have begun exploring in earnest, we are getting glimpses of
how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered. Because of
this, we are depressed. It is not so bad being ignorant if you are totally
ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some detail the reality of
ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not-so-bad spots, but no
true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be
trusted.
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction.
There are probably no questions we can think up that can't be answered,
sooner or later, including even the matter of consciousness. To be sure,
there may well be questions we can't think up, ever, and therefore limits
to the reach of human intellect, but that is another matter. Within our
limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if
we keep at it long enough, and pay attention.
1). According to the author, really good science _______.
A. would surprise the brightest minds of the 18th century Enlightenment
B. will produce results which cannot be foreseen
C. will help people to make the right choice in advance
D. will bring about disturbing results
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