Mystery

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all art and all science.
--Albert Einstein

The rounded world is fair to see,
Nine times folded in mystery,
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

The mystery of the mystery must stay unknown,
Only God can know and man must not see -
Great minds have tried but they will not find,
the answer to the mystery of the mystery.
--lyrics by Porter Wagoner

There's a certain satisfaction in solving mysteries, and I think the desire to solve  mysteries comes naturally to most humans; though once we find the solution to the mystery, the fascination seems to disappear. Else why would magicians guard the secrets to their tricks so jealously?

I wonder what it is about certain mysteries that capture the imagination - what seems mysterious is a little different for each person. At the risk of revealing too much, here are some of the mysteries I have wondered about:

Would the Mona Lisa still intrigue us with her smile all these hundreds of years later, if we knew that it was really just because Da Vinci had cracked a joke about the Medicis?

If we knew what nightingales and whales were really singing about, would we still listen in awe and wonder - or would we shout for them to knock off all that noise out there?

Do inanimate objects move when we're not looking? I'm pretty sure my car keys do.

If intelligent life from another planet showed up on the White House lawn, wanting to develop diplomatic relations, so we embarked in an inter-stellar cultural exchange program - how long do you think it would take before the aliens would need to form an anti-defamation league? (Even if they had come in peace).  Do you think we would have all our top scientists working on a forcefield to prevent illegal aliens from entering our atmosphere (even if it meant blocking our view of the moon)?  And would we ever look up at the night sky and wish upon a star again?

Are all crop circles hoaxes?  If some of them weren't made by humans, then who or what made them? What do they mean?  Are they just the work of alien graffiti taggers? Or is there a cosmic Cristo who is creating them as a kind of artwork? Or are they maybe giving us code enforcement citations to clean up the place?

How did they build the pyramids? Without power tools! Ditto for the Great Wall of China...Now that we have power tools and precision machinery, why aren't our new buildings as pretty as when they used to haul everything by oxen and hand carve it when it got there?

Was there really an Atlantis? Where was it?  Did they have cable TV?

Who first discovered how to make bread?  How on earth did they figure out all the ingredients - and all those steps they 'Kneaded' to do, to bake it right? And butter! How did they figure that one out?

What really happened to Amelia Earheart?  Jimmy Hoffa?  The Anasazi? The doctor from Northern Exposure?

What is the solution to Nick Bantock's "Egyptian Jukebox" mystery?  I've had this book since it was first published, and I still have no idea. It's the only mystery I've read that I was unable to understand the solution by the end of the book. Maybe that's why I'm still hanging onto it after all these years. Or maybe it's just because I love the pictures.

Would I really want to know everything my beloved thinks about - or is it better to have the sweet mystery of why he looks at me with that dreamy, bemused smile?

Although I enjoy nothing more than a good mystery - some mysteries, I think, are better left remaining just that.

See Sunday Scribblings for more mystery and intrigue!

Comments

[Caroline]

Gosh so many questions!

Do you ever come up with answers?

[Paris Parfait]

Beautifully written piece! And great quotes. So many mysteries which shall remain so - but I'd like to know about the Anasazi, Earhart, Pyramids, Great Wall - nearly all of the wonders you mention.

[amber]

Oh, this was freakin' great! LOL!

:)

[Tammy]

Great quotes and a great read. I would like to know those too! Your digital art is fabulous!

[Laini]

I love all your questions -- and I see your point about mystery... by nature what is mysterious is... no longer mysterious once it is unveiled, no? But I disagree, I think. Even if we know how much a hummingbird needs to eat to sustain itself, is it any less beautiful hovering in the flower bed? Nature is so filled with wonders -- maybe that's a better word -- that do not become less wonderful for being understood. And think with the aliens, yes, some of the mystery might go away if we KNEW there was alien life and where but it would open up so many doors to so many NEW mysteries.! Here's another quote for your list: "I would rather live in a world surrounded by mystery, than live in a world so small my mind could comprehend it all." - I'm forgetting who that's by; an American minister... Oh, and I liked your question about bread. It's fun to wonder how things like that came about!

[Kara]

Tinker you make me laugh - all good questions and such fun to read!

[violetismycolor]

That was an absolutely fabulous list of questions. and funny, too. You are the best!

[Melba]

I love your questions and the artwork to go along with them. I especially like the stopwatch.

[Rebekah]

Your questions have been skipping around in my mind for days, and every once in a while one will lodge and cause me to waft away on a tangent of thought. I love your grouping of all the most intriguing mysteries.

[Alexandra]

You know what Tinker? I would take intelligent life right here from any corner of our own planet to show up on the White House lawn these days. This was a fabulous post. So often I'm more satisfied by questions like you've posed here than any of the answers. I don't think I would want to know all the answers. I think too we're just not supposed to know it all. But I still hope somewhere along the way to have more answers than I do now.

[Sheela]

So many great questions! Thank you for making me smile this morning. :)