We live in an age where technology is advancing rapidly, and one example is artificial intelligence, which until recently was a stuff of fantasy, but today has become a part of thousands of people’s lives.
However, due to advances in technology, we tend to think that science has an answer for practically everything, however, this thought is not always true. There are many questions that scientists cannot answer, in addition, when they think they are close to an answer, new data is discovered, disproving many theories.
With that in mind, today we’re going to ask some of the key questions science still hasn’t answered. It is worth remembering that for all present, studies and theories exist but nothing is true that can be accepted as true. paying off!
1. Where does the pronoun come from?
Surely, we have all asked ourselves, at some point in life, about our existence: Why me? How do I gain awareness of my own existence? In psychology, this inquiry is known as self-awareness.
However, what exactly is awareness? Is it our brain, part of the brain, or something beyond that? Neuroscientist Christoph Koch and his team at the Allen Institute for Brain Sciences in the USA seem to have taken important steps towards this understanding. His research indicates that consciousness can be associated with the claustrum, a region of the brain.
Although these results have been published in the journal Nature, many experts do not share this conclusion, and it is too early to say definitively that the origin of consciousness has been discovered.
Many scientists believe that consciousness results from the complex interactions between brain functions and human psychological aspects. This network of neural connections allows us to perceive and evaluate the world around us.
Each person’s personality, shaped by their upbringing and environment (including financial factors and family’s emotional background), affects how they perceive the world. However, to date, there is no proven theory about the nature of consciousness, and we do not fully understand the areas of the brain responsible for its formation and functioning.
2. What happens after death
Sooner or later, we all wonder what awaits us after death. Recently, neuroscience researchers made a discovery that may shed light on this age-old question from a scientific perspective.
During experiments with individuals on the verge of death, they obtained interesting results: they recorded intense electrical activity in the brains of these subjects after cardiac arrest, and then, after oxygen was reintroduced to the brain.
This observation has a reasonable explanation: due to a lack of oxygen, neurons lose their ability to maintain their electrical potential and fire a series of electrical impulses.
Such findings, together with statements by Professor Stuart Hameroff, of the Department of Anesthesiology and Psychology at the University of Arizona (USA), may finally provide clearer insight on this issue in the near future.
The essence of his statement lies in the concept that a person’s consciousness does not disappear without a trace after death. On the contrary, this awareness can somehow be absorbed by the structure of the universe, and it is possible that the mechanism of this process is intrinsically related to our nervous system.
3. Do ghosts exist?
It is not difficult to find people who are fascinated by mystical narratives, after all, these stories provide an adrenaline rush and inject a part of the inexplicable into our lives.
However, do ghosts really exist? Until now, researchers have not found solid evidence confirming the existence of spiritual entities, and they explain all mystical narratives and events through various psychosomatic and neurobiological mechanisms: Our consciousness sometimes deceives us as to what we see and feel.
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4. How did life appear on Earth?
Researchers continue to debate the origins of life on Earth, as the three main theories cannot be unified. However, scientist Armen Melkedjanan, from Moscow University (Russia), proposed an alternative approach: what if life appeared not in the oceans, but in terrestrial regions with accumulations of water from volcanic activity? Melkidanian analyzed the chemical makeup of cells, highlighting the substances they absorb and reject.
He noted that the cells of living organisms contain large quantities of potassium phosphate and other minerals except sodium.
This precludes the oceans as the “cradle of life”: living cells contain much more potassium phosphate and much less sodium than the oceans. Geothermal springs near volcanoes, especially in areas of active volcanic activity, such as Yellowstone in the United States, are emerging as viable alternatives. These sites have a mineral composition similar to that of cells.
The debate is far from an immediate resolution, and researchers will not reach a consensus in the short term. The end result will depend on experiments involving chemical reactions and protocells. This brings us, for the first time in history, to the brink of a more comprehensive understanding of the origins of life on Earth.
5. What would happen to the human body without a brain
There is a medical condition known as anencephaly, which appears when a baby is born without a brain. This condition is relatively rare, and it is not uncommon for an affected fetus to develop in the womb until the time of birth. A notable example is the case of a girl named Baby K, who survived until she was two years old without even having a brain. But how was that possible?
In addition to the brain, our body also contains the spinal cord and brain stem, which perform vital functions such as regulating breathing, blood circulation, and reflexes. This is why the body can continue to function within limits that allow it to survive.
However, with the complete absence of the brain, the consciousness of his “I” disappears: a person is not able to think, evaluate and analyze.
6. What is dark matter?
The formation and motions of galaxies as we know them today would challenge our current understanding of gravity. Even with the advances made by Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity, current knowledge of gravity is not sufficient to explain aspects such as the shape of galaxies.
Therefore, the prediction of the presence of some kind of exotic matter, called dark matter, appears. About 85% of all matter in the universe is thought to be made up of this dark matter, a variety that permeates all of space and operates solely through gravitational effects, without interacting with ordinary matter. However, until now, cosmology has not been able to elucidate the nature or properties of this type of matter or even detect it.
7. We are alone in the universe
Many cultural references indicate that if aliens visit our planet, the only possible option is to respond with an aggressive response, perhaps through heavy attacks.
However, from the mild ’80s classic “ET” to decades of Star Trek episodes to the work of Isaac Asimov and Ursula K.Lo Guin, science fiction writers and screenwriters have long debated what the dilemma is: how we should actually interact with aliens. ?
While we have yet to uncover evidence of extraterrestrial life, our search continues. However, it is likely that our future discoveries will be limited to signs of microbial life that may have existed on Mars, rather than the humans depicted in movies and TV shows.
On the other hand, the Drake Equation indicates that there is a real possibility, based on statistics, that extraterrestrial intelligent beings exist somewhere. However, even with this possibility, contacting them would be a complicated task due to the vastness of the galaxy and the enormous distances between the planets.
8. What time is it
We are so immersed in routine that we rarely stop to think about the time. For many, the passage of time seems linear: the past is behind us, the present is here, and the future lies ahead. However, this simplicity is only part of the story.
The idea that time is a line connecting the past, present, and future makes us wonder: does time have a “direction”? After all, although we are moving forward through time, we are only witnessing events that have already happened.
The fact is that we measure time based on movements. Consider, for example, the recurrence of days, months, and seasons. These cycles make us feel like time is moving forward, but it is also possible for us to move in circles. Moreover, our actions are shaped by time: we say that the car has traveled a distance in hours, or that the heart beats a specific number of times per minute.
suggests Rawi Shaaban, co-author of Across the Universe: From Quarks to Quasars. “Measuring operations (movement) using time is like using money instead of directly exchanging commodities.”
Surprisingly, the present cannot be confined to a time scale. How long is “now”? One second? milliseconds? We can even think, in theory, that the present does not exist. After all, when stimuli from the outside reach our brain, they are already past events. And the future remains. We live in this small (but perhaps boundless) gap between the past and the future, which may not have a tangible existence.