Mystery

Curiosity, something we know most of all from childhood, is a forward-driving force that derives from the differential between what is known and not known.

We as scientists spend our lives channeling our curiosity in the service of certainty. Yet along the way, we increasingly embrace uncertainty and celebrate the paths toward understanding, without expecting its conclusive acquisition.

We look for the underlying, hidden causes of events. We try to figure out the nature of things. It’s not just that we human beings can do this; we need to do it. We seem to have a kind of explanatory drive, like our drive for food or sex. When we’re presented with a puzzle, a mystery, a hint of a pattern, something that doesn’t quite make sense, we

We want surprise and suspense, but we also crave order and closure. The artistry of the mystery box is in the balance: give away too much and we’re bored, give away too little and we’re lost.