I write a lot about science because I love science and find it fascinating. I love learning about things I never knew, some I had never even dreamed of. The pursuit of science looks at how the world around us works. It looks at how things have acted in the past.
Some scientific studies look at how things were in the past and how things have changed. They are concerned with trends. One example of this is climate science. They look at ocean temperature, CO2 levels, land surface air temperature, amount of permafrost, etc. over time to see how it changes. (http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_TS_FINAL.pdf) The past and the present are both important for this information to be relevant.
Other studies look at the past and the present to see things that will always remain the same, constants. One current field of study following this is the study of “dark matter”. (https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy) Dark matter is something that cannot be directly seen or detected, but scientists see the effects it has on other objects. This material is found throughout the entirety of the universe (as far as we can tell) and has been around since the beginning of time. We currently just want to know more about it.
The concrete sciences are always looking at the past and the present and studying it. But the fields of technology and medicine look to the future. They see the problems of the past and the present; they understand the science of it, but then they want to fix it. They want to make our future a better place. Scientists in these fields need creativity and imagination to see something different than how it has always been.
This is a unique quality that not all scientists have. I personally love the studying aspect. I like to figure out how things work, I’ll let other people figure out what to do with the new information I discover. There are plenty of people like me, but there are those who can see what is missing. There are those who can imagine a better way. We can thank those sorts of people for many of the great technologies we enjoy today. We have antibiotics, vaccines, TVs, cell phones. All of these things were created by innovators. People who thought outside the box.
Other people who have a similar aspect to their job are science fiction writers. They don’t necessarily get into the nitty gritty factual science of how their ideas work, but they come up with fascinating and original solutions and ideas to problems that they see in our world today. They look at this world as it is now, and they think about how it could be if things were just a little different. The 9th Star Wars movie just came out and there were so many pieces of technology that I wish we had today like the many droids, and the ability to travel to different galaxies.
Sometimes the creativity of science fiction inspires scientists to come up with the real thing. In the early 1970s Martin Cooper and the team from Motorola were coming up with ideas for the first mobile phones. In interviews, Cooper has often given credit to the “communicators” in Star Trek saying, “That was not fantasy to us, that was an objective.”
This creativity and innovation are such beautiful gifts that we as humans possess. It is amazing what we can make and build and come up with. The original creator is our God who has created everything in our world, but how blessed are we that he invites us into that creative process.
When God created us, he made us in his image, this means that we have reason and freedom. Putting these two gifts together gives you creativity. You have reason to rationalize and understand the world around you, how it works. Then you have freedom to look at it and do with it whatever your brain can think of. This creativity, our drive to explore and learn more and make this world better is God allowing us to be co-creators with Him. Our creations are on a much smaller scale than His, and with the pieces that He has given us. It is like giving a child a box of LEGOs and encouraging them to use their creativity and imagination to make the most wonderful things.
Each one of us has some bit of creativity. Even though I talked of my love of numbers and order and not being creative. I also love to paint and create in that way. (I just keep these two passions separate)
No matter if we have the talent of Michelangelo or can only draw stick figures, each one of us is invited into creation.
My challenge for you this week is to create something. This doesn’t have to be art, but it is putting something new out into the world. Something that you with your talents were able to make or do. If you enjoy art I encourage you to take time to create some work of art this week. Take a break from the usual humdrum things and create something new. If you play an instrument, take time this week to create beautiful music. Play for fun at some point this week. If you like to write, write something. If you like to build, build something. Whatever it is that you like to do, create something! If you haven’t created since you were a kid, be bold and try something new. There are so many opportunities. And speaking of kids, if you have them, I encourage you to invite them to join you in this creative process. Maybe this is as simple as sitting down and playing with LEGOs with them. What will you create?
God created this universe for us. He has created so many things, but he gave us a mind full of creativity so that we could join him in being co-creators. He wants to grow closer to us by letting us be like Him in this small way. So accept that invitation, let your imagination run wild. What a beautiful thank you to God for our creativity when we choose to use it and acknowledge Him while we do.
I would love to hear about what you created. Leave a comment or a picture on here or social media with what you created!
