What if humans are not capable of comprehending the theory of everything?

Question

So you know how scientists are exploring the String Theory aka the Theory of Everything? Well what if humans cannot and will not ever figure it out? What if our brains physically don't have the capacity necessary to understand such enormous concepts? I have this image of some extraterrestrial life form sitting up on their planet and looking down on Earth and figuring out whether or not humans are intelligent enough to be a part of the Universal Space Union or something like that and they calculate our brain capacities and we're ALMOST smart enough but not quite. So basically we'll be on the brink of discovery for x amount of time but never actually figure out the theory of everything. Or maybe we will but we'll get it all wrong.

Why is it important? Well maybe it's not. But imagine all the amazing opportunities that we'd have if we could have....

I know- I'm just being a stupid what if-er. But I can't help it. To me, that would be most powerful and saddening truth. Your thoughts?

Answer 1

The nature of your questions makes you a Kantian. Kant believed also that "our brains physically don't have the capacity necessary to understand such enormous concepts."

To prove it, he invented a concept which, by its definition, proves that theory. He invented "Noumenon," and defined it as "unknowable."

Well, if you define something as unknowable, it must be. And he was right. Noumenon is unknowable. But only because he invented something that does not exist.

Man's mind is capable of understanding anything that does, in fact, exist. His "limitation" are not limitations at all, but the 5 sensory doorways to the empirical universe, which his mind then goes about epistemologically identifying.

Using his faculty of epistemology, he discovers there are a whopping 256 ways of forming a deductive syllogism! Now he has 256 known, proved, methods of putting together theories. Not one, not 10, not even 100--but 256!

Then he discovers that only 24 of these (by Aristotle's count) are "valid." Now he knows the forms to use, and the ones to stay away from.

Eventually, given time, he discovers that the earth is NOT at the center of the universe. Eventually he discovers gravity. Eventually he discovers how to get off this planet and he sends 12 men to walk on the moon, and little robots to roam the Red Planet, and creates a telescope in space that shows us events--IN PHOTOGRAPHS no less--of things that happened thousands of light years ago.

Given enought time Man will prove or disprove anything he discovers. It took 2500 years to prove the Atomists were right, but then the Atomists said something could be known--not that something could NOT be known.

Answer 2

Nice question.

Answer 3

It may take a genius to figure it out, but once it is explained then a lot of others will be able to understand it.  That doesn't mean everyone.  You'll still have to have a doctorate in quantum mechanics, but humans will get it.  We just might have to wait a while for that genius to come along.

Answer 4

I don't think you're being stupid.  It's legit to wonder that.  This is the best example I know to prove we cannot TRULY grasp everything, beleive or not, the idea alone is not comprehendable 100%

Christians beleive that God was around forever and nothing ever created him.  You can accept that fact, but if you get into deep thought about it, how can something, a being, have been around "forever and ever" (as childish as that sounds its simply put) and without having a creator of its own?  We can say that we understand it to be true, but deep down we do not know how it's possible for such an existence.

I don't think we're meant to know everything to it's fullest.  If we did there would be a lot of change in this world, and not all for the better either.  However, as you said, in some cases it would be for the better as we would be far more advanced.  

There will always be things we understand and accept to be true but never truly comprehend.

Answer 5

"There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."

Answer 6

I think that we are going to get to the end of finding out how the world and universe works and I believe that everyone is going to be very disappointed to find there is no higher being, just science at work. I think even science is a good enough "Reason." It's amazing to see science at work and see all the beauty and diversity our world has to offer because of animals and plants and other ecological offerings. I do think it is sad to see how we have ruined it. In our search for a higher power we have failed to see that the Earth IS a higher power. Earth is a life giver and she takes care of us, and this is how we repay her

Answer 7

Stop worrying about things of this nature, you are a fool to do so. Consider  this, "Intelligent Extraterrestrial Biological Entities, or EBE's" had to start as a lower life form and so on, it's really not that complicated, everything eventually evolves. Unless of coarse a particular being is content with it's stage.

Answer 8

woah, i've never though about that before

i think we're pretty intelligent

i think some people have started to think that the human race is just stupid in general because of our new youth (which isnt the brightest) and we're all disappointed in ourselves because we've let the earth become such a mess, so we feel stupid

haha

but i really think that our capacity is pretty high, and that we're pretty intelligent

Answer 9

Maybe everything isn't meant to be found out, ya know?

Maybe there are just things in life that humans aren't supposed to comprehend..and we wont.

But then again, there is always the "mind over matter" kind of thing.. and maybe we can figure things out, we just think we can't. Or we already have, but it's just so simple, that it couldn't be correct logic.

I think humans have surpassed the intelligence. And I believe that science and such will be the destruction of our Earth.

I sometimes think that technology is a horrible thing and that we can't leave well enough alone. h**l, I can hardly keep up with the technology nowadays.. lol.

But all in all. I honestly think that life should be lived without the what-ifs {even though i do it myself & I should practice what i preach, lol}.

Sorry that i kind of rambled. lol