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1)  Our knowledge of the basic physical underpinnings of the Universe spans the breadth of time and space, from the turbulent beginning of the big bang to the modern tapestry of stars and galaxies.

2)  Nearly everything we know we have learned in this century.  Consider.  In 1900....

• We thought that the Universe was about 10000 Light Years across (it's Billions)
• We thought that the Milky Way was the only Galaxy (there are Billions)
• We thought that the Sun was ~100 million years old and shined through gravitational contraction (it's 5 Billion years and shines from nuclear reactions)
• There were only 8 planets and most of our ideas about them were wrong.
• We lacked basic understanding of the Earth's atmospheric structure.
• We were not even sure if 'space' was empty!


3) We have only scratched the surface.
 

• We haven't set foot on other planets in our own solar system
• We have not tried very hard to look for life elsehwere in our solar system or nearby stars (exception: SETI)
• We don't know when the Universe is going to end or how it got started


4) There are some answers that the scientific method cannot seem to provide:

• Why is there a Universe?
• Why are we here?
• How can I get along with my neighbors?

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