Årets Edge-fråga är:

What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkit?

Sean Carroll besvarar den på följande sätt:

The world consists of things, which obey rules. If you keep asking ”why” questions about what happens in the universe, you ultimately reach the answer ”because of the state of the universe and the laws of nature.” … Things happen because the laws of nature say they will — because they are the consequences of the state of the universe and the path of its evolution. Life on Earth doesn’t arise in fulfillment of a grand scheme, but rather as a byproduct of the increase of entropy in an environment very far from equilibrium. Our impressive brains don’t develop because life is guided toward greater levels of complexity and intelligence, but from the mechanical interactions between genes, organisms, and their surroundings. … The world keeps happening, in accordance with its rules; it’s up to us to make sense of it and give it value.

Jag har tidigare betecknat frågan ”varför?” som meningslös i många fall.