insignificant beside this tranquil ecstasy.It was as though I had looked for a truth outside myself,and finding it had become for a moment a part of the truth I sought;as though all the world,the atoms and the stars,were wonderfully clear and close to me,and I to them,so that we were part of aa lucidity more tremendous than any mystery. I had never known that such a moment could exist....Since then I have never quite regained.But one effect will stay with me as long as I live;one,when I was young,I used to sneer at the mystics who have described the experience of being at one with God and part of the unity of things.After that afternoon,I did not want to laugh again;for though I should have interpreted the experience differently,I thought I knew what they meant. This experience beyond pleasure,like the dark night of the soul,has a name:the novelist Romain Rolland, in a letter to Sigmund Freud,called it"the oceanic sense of well-being". Para.18:Science is our century's art.Nearly 400 years ago,when modern science was just beginning,Francis Bacon wrote that "knowledge is power."Yet Bacon was not a scientist.He wrote as a bureaucrat in retirement.His slogan was actually the first clear statement of the promise by which,ever since,bureaucrats justify to each other and to king or taxpayer the spending of money on science. Knowledge is power:today we would say,less grandly,that science is essential to technology.Bacon's promise has been fulfilled abundantly,magnificently.The rage to know has been matched by the rage to make.Therefore-with the proviso,abundantly demonstrated,that it's rarely possible to predict which program of fundamental research will produce just what technology and when-the promise has brought scientists in the Western world unprecedented freedom of inquiry.Nonetheless,Bacon's promise hardly penetrates to the thing that moves most scientists.Science has several rewards,but the greatest is that it is the most interesting,difficult,pitiless,exciting,and beautiful pursuit that we have yet found.Science is our century's art. Para.19:The takeover can be dated more precisely than the beginning of most eras:Friday,June 30, 1905,will do,the day when Albert Einstein,a clerk in the Swiss patent office in Bern,submitted a thirty-one-page paper,"On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,"to the journal Annalen der Physik.No poem,no play,no piece of music written since then comes near the theory of relatively in its power,as one strains to apprehend it,to make the mind tremble with delight.Whereas fifty years ago it was often said that hardly two score people understood the theory of relativity,today its essential vision,as Einstein himself said,is within reach of any reasonably bright high school student-and that,too,is characteristic of the speed of assimilation of the new in the arts. Para.20:Consider also the molecular structure of that stuff of the gene,the celebrated double helix of deoxyribonucleic acid.This is two repetitive strands,one winding up,the other down,but hooked together, across the tube of space between them,by a sequence of pairs of chemical entities-just four sorts of these entities,making just two kinds of pairs,with exactly ten pairs to a full turn of the helix.It's a piece of sculpture.But observe how form and function are one.That sequence possesses a unique duality:one way, it allows the strands to part and each to assemble on itself,by the paring rules,a duplicate of the complementary strand;the other way,the sequence enciphers,in a four-letter alphabet,the entire specification for the substance of the organism.The structure thus encompasses both heredity and embryological growth,the passing-on of potential and its expression.The structure's elucidation,in March of 1953,was an event of such surpassing explanatory power that it will reverberate through whatever time mankind has remaining.The structure is also perfectly economical and splendidly elegant.There is no sculpture made in this century that is so entrancing.insignificant beside this tranquil ecstasy. It was as though I had looked for a truth outside myself, and finding it had become for a moment a part of the truth I sought; as though all the world, the atoms and the stars, were wonderfully clear and close to me, and I to them, so that we were part of a a lucidity more tremendous than any mystery. I had never known that such a moment could exist. … Since then I have never quite regained. But one effect will stay with me as long as I live; one, when I was young, I used to sneer at the mystics who have described the experience of being at one with God and part of the unity of things. After that afternoon, I did not want to laugh again; for though I should have interpreted the experience differently, I thought I knew what they meant. This experience beyond pleasure, like the dark night of the soul, has a name: the novelist Romain Rolland, in a letter to Sigmund Freud, called it “the oceanic sense of well-being”. Para. 18: Science is our century’s art. Nearly 400 years ago, when modern science was just beginning, Francis Bacon wrote that “knowledge is power.” Yet Bacon was not a scientist. He wrote as a bureaucrat in retirement. His slogan was actually the first clear statement of the promise by which, ever since, bureaucrats justify to each other and to king or taxpayer the spending of money on science. Knowledge is power: today we would say, less grandly, that science is essential to technology. Bacon’s promise has been fulfilled abundantly, magnificently. The rage to know has been matched by the rage to make. Therefore—with the proviso, abundantly demonstrated, that it’s rarely possible to predict which program of fundamental research will produce just what technology and when—the promise has brought scientists in the Western world unprecedented freedom of inquiry. Nonetheless, Bacon’s promise hardly penetrates to the thing that moves most scientists. Science has several rewards, but the greatest is that it is the most interesting, difficult, pitiless, exciting, and beautiful pursuit that we have yet found. Science is our century’s art. Para. 19:The takeover can be dated more precisely than the beginning of most eras: Friday, June 30, 1905, will do, the day when Albert Einstein, a clerk in the Swiss patent office in Bern, submitted a thirty-one-page paper, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies,” to the journal Annalen der Physik. No poem, no play, no piece of music written since then comes near the theory of relatively in its power, as one strains to apprehend it, to make the mind tremble with delight. Whereas fifty years ago it was often said that hardly two score people understood the theory of relativity, today its essential vision, as Einstein himself said, is within reach of any reasonably bright high school student—and that, too, is characteristic of the speed of assimilation of the new in the arts. Para. 20:Consider also the molecular structure of that stuff of the gene, the celebrated double helix of deoxyribonucleic acid. This is two repetitive strands, one winding up, the other down, but hooked together, across the tube of space between them, by a sequence of pairs of chemical entities—just four sorts of these entities, making just two kinds of pairs, with exactly ten pairs to a full turn of the helix. It’s a piece of sculpture. But observe how form and function are one. That sequence possesses a unique duality: one way, it allows the strands to part and each to assemble on itself, by the paring rules, a duplicate of the complementary strand; the other way, the sequence enciphers, in a four-letter alphabet, the entire specification for the substance of the organism. The structure thus encompasses both heredity and embryological growth, the passing-on of potential and its expression. The structure’s elucidation, in March of 1953, was an event of such surpassing explanatory power that it will reverberate through whatever time mankind has remaining. The structure is also perfectly economical and splendidly elegant. There is no sculpture made in this century that is so entrancing