I do not know what I may appear to the world,but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea shore,and diverting myself in no and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary,whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. Para.8:For some curiosity and the delight of putting the world together deepen into a life's passion. Sheldon Glashow,a fundamental-particle physicist at Harvard,also got started in science by asking simple questions."In eighth grade,we were learning about how the earth goes around the sun,and the moon around the earth,and so on,"he said."And I thought about that,and realized that the Man in the Moon is always looking at us"-that the moon as it circles always turns the same face to the earth.And I asked the teacher,'Why is the Man in the Moon always looking at us?'She was pleased with the question-but said it was hard to answer.And it turns out that it's not until you're in college-level physics courses that one really learns the answers,"Glashow said."But the difference is that most people would look at the moon and wonder for a moment and say,That's interesting'-and then forget it.But some people can't let go." Para.9:Curiosity is not enough.The word is too mild by far,a word for infants.Passion is indispensable for creation.no less in the sciences than in the arts.Medawar once described it in a talk addressed to young scientists."You must feel in yourself an exploratory impulsion-an acute discomfort at incomprehension."This is the rage to know.The other side of the fun of science,as of art,is pain.A problem worth solving will surely require weeks and months of lack of progress,whipsawed between hope and the blackest sense of despair.The marathon runner or the young swimmer who would be a champion knows at least that the pain may be a symptom of progress.But here the artist and the scientist part company with the athlete-to join the mystic for a while.The pain of creation,though not of the body,is in one way worse.It must be not only endured but reflected back on itself to increase the agility,variety, inventiveness of the play of the mind.Some problems in science have demanded such devotion,such willingness to bear repeated rebuffs,not just for years but for decades.There are times in the practice of the arts,we're told,of abysmal self-doubt.There are like passages in the doing of science. Para.10:Albert Einstein took eleven years of unremitting concentration to produce the general theory of relativity;long afterward,he wrote,"In the light of knowledge attained,the happy achievement seems almost a matter of course,and any intelligent student can grasp it without too much trouble.But the years of anxious searching in the dark,with their intense longing,their alternations of confidence and exhaustion,and the final emergence into the light-only those who have experienced it can understand it." Einstein confronting Einstein's problems:the achievement,to be sure,is matched only by Newton's and perhaps Darwin's-but the experience is not rare.It is all but inseparable from high accomplishment.In the black cave of unknowing,when one is groping for the contours of the rock and the slope of the floor, tossing a pebble and listening for its fall,brushing away false clues as insistent as cobwebs,a touch of fresh air on the cheek can make hope leap up,and unexpected scurrying whisper can induce the mood of the brink of terror."Afterward it can be told-trivialized-like a roman policier,a detective story,"Francois Jacob once said."While you're there,it is the sound and the fury."But it was the poet and adept of mysticism St.John of the Cross who gave to this passionate wrestling with bafflement the name by which, ever since,it has been known:"the dark night of the soul." Para.11:Enlightenment may not appear,or not in time;the mystic at least need not fear forestalling. Enlightenment may dawn in ways as varied as the individual approaches of scientists at work-and,in defiance of stereotypes,the sciences far outrun the arts in variety of personal styles and in the crucialI do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea shore, and diverting myself in no and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. Para. 8: For some curiosity and the delight of putting the world together deepen into a life’s passion. Sheldon Glashow, a fundamental-particle physicist at Harvard, also got started in science by asking simple questions. “In eighth grade, we were learning about how the earth goes around the sun, and the moon around the earth, and so on,” he said. “And I thought about that, and realized that the Man in the Moon is always looking at us”—that the moon as it circles always turns the same face to the earth. And I asked the teacher, ‘Why is the Man in the Moon always looking at us?’ She was pleased with the question—but said it was hard to answer. And it turns out that it’s not until you’re in college-level physics courses that one really learns the answers,” Glashow said. “But the dif erence is that most people would look at the moon and wonder for a moment and say, ‘That’s interesting’—and then forget it. But some people can’t let go.” Para. 9: Curiosity is not enough. The word is too mild by far, a word for infants. Passion is indispensable for creation, no less in the sciences than in the arts. Medawar once described it in a talk addressed to young scientists. “You must feel in yourself an exploratory impulsion—an acute discomfort at incomprehension.” This is the rage to know. The other side of the fun of science, as of art, is pain. A problem worth solving will surely require weeks and months of lack of progress, whipsawed between hope and the blackest sense of despair. The marathon runner or the young swimmer who would be a champion knows at least that the pain may be a symptom of progress. But here the artist and the scientist part company with the athlete—to join the mystic for a while. The pain of creation, though not of the body, is in one way worse. It must be not only endured but reflected back on itself to increase the agility, variety, inventiveness of the play of the mind. Some problems in science have demanded such devotion, such willingness to bear repeated rebuffs, not just for years but for decades. There are times in the practice of the arts, we’re told, of abysmal self-doubt. There are like passages in the doing of science. Para. 10:Albert Einstein 4 took eleven years of unremitting concentration to produce the general theory of relativity; long afterward, he wrote, “In the light of knowledge attained, the happy achievement seems almost a matter of course, and any intelligent student can grasp it without too much trouble. But the years of anxious searching in the dark, with their intense longing, their alternations of confidence and exhaustion, and the final emergence into the light—only those who have experienced it can understand it.” Einstein confronting Einstein’s problems: the achievement, to be sure, is matched only by Newton’s and perhaps Darwin’s—but the experience is not rare. It is all but inseparable from high accomplishment. In the black cave of unknowing, when one is groping for the contours of the rock and the slope of the floor, tossing a pebble and listening for its fall, brushing away false clues as insistent as cobwebs, a touch of fresh air on the cheek can make hope leap up, and unexpected scurrying whisper can induce the mood of the brink of terror. “Afterward it can be told—trivialized—like a roman policier, a detective story,” Francois Jacob once said. “While you’re there, it is the sound and the fury.” But it was the poet and adept of mysticism St. John of the Cross who gave to this passionate wrestling with bafflement the name by which, ever since, it has been known: “the dark night of the soul.” Para. 11:Enlightenment may not appear, or not in time; the mystic at least need not fear forestalling. Enlightenment may dawn in ways as varied as the individual approaches of scientists at work—and, in defiance of stereotypes, the sciences far outrun the arts in variety of personal styles and in the crucial