Levels of “Why”
In the past (maybe as a kid), you may have wondered about certain aspects of the world. Why is the sky blue? Why do people pay taxes? Why can’t I have ice cream for every meal?
There’s one example in a book where a boy asks his teacher why the Aztecs were so powerful. The teacher explained that it was because they were always taking over other lands, and the boy asked why that was. The teacher stuttered that it was because the Aztecs were greedy, but after the boy asked “why?” again, they had no response.
When you think about it, it seems like there are many things you can’t explain, and all it takes is a few simple questions that could be constructed by a five-year old (“why?”) to get to a point where your understanding is insufficient. This world of deeper levels might leave you a bit uncomfortable. How can there be so many things we don’t understand? How can we continue to function in our everyday lives when we clearly don’t comprehend the complexity that is present in the universe we live in?
The answer I would give (and will try to demonstrate) is:
- It is impossible to understand all the levels of “why” of the rules that govern our existence.
- We don’t need to.
It is impossible to understand all the levels of “why” of the rules that govern our existence
Richard Feynman puts it like this at 1:39 in this great video:
When you explain a ‘why’…
