issue41 请拍

一月一号UID: 2148376

TOPIC: ISSUE41 - "Such nonmainstream areas of inquiry as astrology, fortune-telling, and psychic and paranormal pursuits play a vital role in society by satisfying human needs that are not addressed by mainstream science."
WORDS: 596---没时间修改了          TIME: 0:45:00          DATE: 2006-12-21

With the past scientific and technology development of modern society, we are acquiring more and more knowledge of our existence and our surroundings. However, with the expansion of our knowledge, we sadly found that there is a large amount mysteries beyond our knowledge. Thus, I agree with the notion above that some nonmainstream areas of inquiry satisfy human needs for certainty and psychological comforts. Meanwhile, we should leery on the risk that we place too much trust in these nonmainstream areas for the reason that it may hinder our scientific and rational development of mainstream science.
Though we can explore the outer space or the deep bottom of oceans now with the new technology we invent, there are still myriads of issues beyond our comprehension and understanding. In fact, with deeper acquaintance of knowledge about our nature, we would be amazed by the magic power and the complexity of the universe. For instance, our forefathers thought that the universe was composed only by earth, moon, sun and some small stars. But we know that the solar system just a very common system in our galaxy and our galaxy is just a very common galaxy in the universe. There are thousands of galaxies like us in the universe and most of them are unknown to us. In the past, to understand the happenings on the earth, our ancestors related the motion of stars in the sky and the events on the earth to explain and foresee what would happen on the earth. In this sense, the astrology is more likely to be regarded as art but not science.
As searching for certainty, people sometimes would refer to astrology or psychic to explain something that cannot be solved by mainstream science. By coincidence, some phenomena that cannot be explained by the mainstream science can be explained by astrology or fortunetelling to some extents. Thus, people just seek for an explanation would believe them to satisfy their curiosity. These nonmaintream fields use something that cannot be perceived or testified to explain and it ostensibly can give us satisfactory answers.
Besides, even when people know the irrationality of these nonmainstream areas, they would also come to them for psychological comforts. When people do something that are out their control, they refer to fortune telling or astrology just to make sure to relieve their stress and anxiety. In addition, we sometimes refer to psychic or paranormal pursuits to pursue unrealistic dreams. As everyone would face the death of people we love and we cannot accept the fact that we would never see them again, we may want to see them again by these nonmaintream methods. What we expect from them just a expression of our sorrow or love.
Meanwhile, we should realize the fact that with the development of science, many more problems would be solved and we must leery on the risk that these nonmaintream areas may place too much  influence on us and thus cause us become irrational and do harm to the development of our society. After all, these nonmaintream methods are not scientific and would be overturned after a careful scrutiny. If we drown in these irrational fortune telling or astrology, we may think that we do not need work so hard and just we can stay home and wait for the success which the fortune teller told us we would have. Besides, too much trust to these unscientific areas would cause us become more and more out of our modern society.
In sum, I agree that these nonmaintream fields can satisfy us to some extent just for psychological effects. Meanwhile, we should be cautious and keep rational when we refer to them.