Nothing in Biology makes sense, except in the light of Evolution- Theodosius Dobzhansky

Throughout my childhood years, and till the present, I have been in hold of an outlandish quirk of being unable to perceive large numbers; concurrently with another growing trait of being unable to gain an understanding of a topic without being taught the layer underneath. For example, if one of my professors of Cellular Biology were to quote Dobzhansky “Nothing in Biology makes sense, except in the light of Evolution”, I would naturally have to challenge this claim and propelled to ask “Why is evolution being put as the centre player here, and if so, then what about the science that led to a phenomenon called Evolution? That to me sounds much more important than evolution itself; regardless of whether Biology is the matter of focus in this context. Scientific progress occurs with interdisciplinary collaboration among skilled people from several disciplines after all. This would naturally then lead me to the cosmological model- Theory of Big-Bang, and mechanics behind the science of emergence of particles from “nothing” that led to the Big Bang.

My way of thinking would then eventually become structured to asking “How” (which I believe is more important) instead of “Why”. This was when I began paying more attention to Astronomy itself. Large numbers became more vivid and wonderful to imagine and hence easier to visualise the evolutionary process. I realised I needed the curiosity of an Astronomer to make sense of everything.

Understanding the history of numbers and the innate pattern-recognition ability of humans to make sense of stars, space (topology), and the desire to understand our place in the universe is indeed a herculean and ever-evolving task. However, I realise that the applicability of the principles behind astrophysical enquiries is universal to all of the sciences-especially to studying our origins. To me, Nothing in Biology makes sense, except in the light of Evolution Astronomy.