The voids of our knowledge have always been filed with religious and mystical explanations and although we have only began to understand our world, science has done a far greater service than shaman or clergymen in elevating our understanding of the planet and the universe we live in.

There is a view that is often advanced by mystics that the rigor of the sciences stifles imagination and creativity, blinding scientists to other realms of explanation. I could not disagree more. Although the sciences as with any discipline view major departures from the norm with skepticism, I can think of nothing that has done more to blind humanity than the irrationality of mysticism and religion.

Although I understand the attraction that the sense of community and the connection to something greater that religion and many mystical beliefs offer, we must remember that these are sources of comfort and maybe even wisdom but are not the tools for the advancement of knowledge