It's all relative -or is it?

About two weeks ago scientists at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Switzerland report that they may have discovered particles that actually travel faster than the speed of light. So what, you say? Well, the discovery of particles that attain faster-than-light speeds would upset Einstein's theory of special relativity, which forms one of the fundamentals of the standard model of physics. It’s HUGE.

In other news, Israeli physicist Daniel Shechtman discovered something called quasicrystals which apparently call into question  much of what we know about the nature of matter. His theory about these oddball shaped crystals initially cost him his job, but now he’s the proud winner of the Nobel Prize in  Chemistry.

I’m not a science geek, and I don’t actually know what all this means, but I find it interesting because some very foundational principles upon which much of our scientific understanding  has been built is being called into question.

What that says to me is we only know what we know, but that’s not all there is to know. What’s more, that which we think we know and upon which we hang all our other assumptions, may not be right after all. Deep, huh?

Relativity or relativism means that everything derives its meaning or significance in relation to some other absolute. So what does it mean when what we thought was absolute isn’t?

I take a couple lessons from this news. First, I think it’s good perspective for us to understand that there is always more that we don’t know. Understanding this can help us be more open minded, more innovative and more humble.

Secondly, sometimes that crackpot idea you have might just change the world if you stick with it. Dr. Shechtman observed something that didn’t line up with the conventional wisdom, and he pursued a sort of radical idea. He was opposed, challenged - punished even – but he didn’t give in because he knew there was more to know than what was already understood. Don’t let conventional wisdom be a trap for mediocrity and lack of imagination and courage.

What assumptions have you been questioning lately? What are you going to do about it?