Oddly- I too think about these things in a similar way.....
Here's an idea for you-
everything in nature is connected. Human society is likewise connected to nature and its actions are directed by it. Technology is the result of human society.
Therefore- everything around us is somehow connected. Find the connections and you understand a lot better how and why the world works the way it does. People of different cultures offer different perspectives on the same issues and have helped me fill in some gaps.
I look for these connections and have been doing so for much of my life. I too know that there is still a LOT to learn and no person can ever know everything. But the pursuit of the clues is fascinating and ultimately leads me to a lot of satisfaction. I try to show a few of these connections to my students and have them look for themselves. But very few people today bother to even look- much to my dismay. It would be nice if more folks even thought about some of the questions you post . I fear our society has become superficial and self centered and ultimately prone to its own demise because of it.
In closing- the most brilliant people are the people who can cross the gaps between the specialties (branches of math, science, culture) and synthesize new ideas from combinations of the old.
$@#$@#$@#$@#- it must be summer because I have had sleep time and get philosophical.... sorry guys!
WC
an example to ponder- Diffusion- a natural phenomenon- (the movement of particles from areas of high concentration to areas of lesser concentration until equilibrium is reached)
many/most biological process involve diffusion, heat diffuses from a source, water osmoses across membranes making things wet, populations diffuse, suspended particles in the air diffuse, ideas in a population diffuse
suppose the opposite was true- how would the world be different?