Unanswerable Questions

Questioning is a vital part of life. Questions help us learn, improve, and develop as individuals, but some questions lack an answer. There are just some mind-boggling questions and ideas that will never receive an answer and continue to stump anyone trying to make sense of them.

Some popular debates include which came first, the chicken or the egg, or whether water is wet. But, there are tons of other important discussions to be made.

A high percentage of the thought provoking questions are in fact about what is occurring outside of this world. 

One of the most popular debates is whether there is extraterrestrial life or not. There are plenty of theories regarding life beyond Earth’s atmosphere. There are claims of UFO sightings. Also, many believe that Area 51 is a spot where research is being done on aliens. But, overall the question is whether Earth is home to the only life in this thought-to-be never ending universe or not.

Scientific American says, “There can be little doubt that civilizations more advanced than the earth’s exist elsewhere in the universe” (Sagan and Drake). Many trusted scientific sources believe that extraterrestrial life certainly exists somewhere, the question is just where exactly.

Other disputes concerning our universe include whether it is infinite, or whether time or the universe came first.

Thinking of the universe being infinite is such a tough concept to wrap our heads around. Whether it be the walls of a room or Earth’s atmosphere, everything has limits. So, it is extremely tough to think about something that has endless space. 

“All we know for sure (mostly for sure) is that it’s bigger than we can observe, essentially because the farthest edges of the universe we can see don’t look like edges” (Haynes). 

There are theories that the universe is still expanding as light is still traveling from the Big Bang that was thought to occur 13.8 billion years ago. But, truthfully nobody knows for certain, and no one will know for a long time to come.

This also brings us to the question of whether time or space came first. This is an interesting concept as it makes you think about what existed, if anything, before the Big Bang, or before God, if you are religious. 

“According to Albert Einstein, space and time are simply different aspects of the same entity now called ‘spacetime’. It therefore seems plausible that they came into existence simultaneously” (Lloyd). This is a topic that is just so tough to think about because we can not think of a setting without time or space.

Another question that will be unknown forever is whether or not there is a God. “The highest level of belief [in God] (87%) comes from a simple yes/no question, ‘Do you believe in God?’ which Gallup last asked in 2017” (Hrynowski). Whether you are religious or not, you can believe what you want to believe, but no one knows the truth. There are no facts regarding this, which makes the idea of religion all the more interesting.

All of these questions listed above lead to one of, if not the most mind-boggling question of all. What is the purpose of life and why does anything exist? It is such a simple question, yet so complex.

Nobody truly knows why we are here on Earth, and what the purpose of all this is. But, it makes you think what is the point of it all, or what would happen if we just did not exist. 

There is so much space that is unexplored, and so much happening that we don’t know about. This is why many people devote themselves to a religion, to believe in something and make sense of it all.

When you are relaxing, I ask you to think a little bit. Think of how much there is outside of this world, it is extremely tough to comprehend.

Also, on the topic of life, one question that has always made me think is why I am living in this time, or generation. Sometimes I wonder if there is a reason that my consciousness is in my body at this time. There have been so many people alive that it makes you think that there is a purpose for you at this exact time instead of hundreds of years ago. 

Questions are so essential in our lives. Some as answerable as what is 2+2? Some as unanswerable as what is inside a black hole? The unanswerable ones will keep us pondering for eternity.