I stumbled upon an article in the NYTimes: Finding From Particle Research Could Rewrite Known Laws of Physic, which speaks to newly discovered subatomic particle behavior that seems to defy our textbook physics. It immediately struck me as a topic worth speaking to and for good reason:

We have lived through a decade of a dramatic drop in the price of storing vast quantities of data, amidst exponentially more powerful compute; capable of calculations incomprehensible a mere 10 years ago.

What this means is that we have entered an age where research and experimentation as it relates to theoretical science will most certainly lead to mind-boggling new discoveries. The knowledge exists; it just awaits patiently for us to advance to the point where we can understand what has always been.

Any sufficiently misunderstood technology or phenomena is likened to magic. The scientific principles that govern existence will likely never be completely understood by humanity, how could it?

It, however, is more important that the incremental discoveries derived from recent scientific experimentation should exist as a stark reminder that we do not fully understand our environment or ourselves. I liken it to a sort of constant scientific humbling that should inhabit our minds.

As an example, to say traveling faster than the speed of light is impossible is accurate as defined by Special Relatively. But however impressive and influential Einstein is, he is limited to data and compute of his era, and as such; so are his theories.

So while the guiding principles of modern physics can indeed dictate our everyday lives — they cannot dictate the universe. 

In the coming decades, we will most certainly discover that many of the concepts we have deemed as magic, are in fact scientific principles human beings were simply unaware of; or perhaps do not resonate with us here on earth.