THE ATTEMPT TO UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE’S SEEMINGLY
infinite mysteries is a great adventure that can surely provide
one with merriment, frustration, joy, sadness, and continual wonder
and amazement throughout all of one’s life. The fundamental
principles governing the operation of the universe and the way in
which it forms structure always seem just beyond our grasp, and
during every age of human history that supported the practice of
science, it was believed that the state of knowledge was “mostly
complete” with a few “loose ends” to be tied up. Often, however,
a new cataclysmic discovery would completely change our conception
of the natural world, and such new knowledge is always waiting
patiently, just around the corner, to be uncovered.