Questions No One Knows the Answers to

On a typical school day, we spend countless hours learning answers to questions. But today, let's do the opposite and focus on the questions no one has the answers to—those that spark curiosity and wonder. As a child, I often pondered: What would it feel like to be a dog? Do fish or insects feel pain? Was the Big Bang an accident? Is there a God? If so, why do we assume it's a He? Why do innocent beings suffer? Is my future pre-written, or do I have free will? Who am I—just a biological machine? Why am I conscious, and what even is consciousness? Could robots one day be conscious too?.

These questions captivated me, and I assumed someone, somewhere, must know the answers. The truth is, no one does. In fact, many of these questions puzzle me more now than ever. But exploring them is thrilling—it takes you to the edge of knowledge, a place full of mystery and discovery. For example, consider two profound questions no one on Earth can answer yet:

How many universes are there?.

When I gaze out of a plane window at Earth's vast landscapes, I'm struck by our planet's immense scale. But then I remember: the Sun, which could fit one million Earths inside, is just one of about 400 billion stars in our galaxy. The Milky Way itself is only one of roughly 100 billion galaxies we can observe. If each star were a grain of sand, the Milky Way alone would fill a 30-by-30-foot area three feet deep. The stars in the observable universe would create a beach stretching hundreds of millions of miles.

Yet, modern physics suggests an even grander reality. Many galaxies are moving away from us so rapidly that their light may never reach us, leaving them forever beyond our reach. But they are still part of what we consider "our universe," governed by the same physical laws. However, theories like string theory propose there could be countless other universes, each with different particles, properties, and laws. Some might blink in and out of existence in nanoseconds, forming a multiverse beyond imagination.

String theory estimates a multiverse with 10^500 universes—a number so vast it defies comprehension. And even that pales next to the possibility of infinity. Some physicists suggest the space-time continuum might be infinite, containing endless "pocket universes." Quantum theory further complicates this, suggesting countless parallel universes could exist, with versions of you living wildly different lives in each. Others, however, argue there's just one universe—or even that the universe itself is an illusion.

Why can't we see evidence of alien life?.

In our vast universe, with its countless stars and planets, surely life must exist elsewhere. Yet, as physicist Enrico Fermi asked, "Where is everybody?" Despite numerous theories, we've found no convincing evidence of extraterrestrial life.

Recent discoveries, like thousands of exoplanets identified by the Kepler space observatory, suggest that our galaxy alone could host 50 million potentially life-supporting planets. Earth formed relatively late in the universe's timeline, so alien civilizations could have had millions—even billions—of years to develop and create advanced technologies. Yet we see no signs of colonization, signals, or grand cosmic artifacts.

Why? Theories range from dark to hopeful. Perhaps intelligent life is rare, or civilizations self-destruct before achieving interstellar communication. Maybe alien life is microscopic or exists in forms we can't perceive. Or perhaps we’re not looking hard enough—or in the right way. Advanced civilizations might use communication methods or energy forms we can't detect.

Despite the mystery, efforts to search for alien life are growing. Spectroscopic studies of exoplanets and initiatives like SETI invite citizen scientists to join the quest. Even experiments on Earth are attempting to create life from scratch, offering clues about life's potential diversity.

Whether we're alone or not, the fact that we can ponder these questions is remarkable. The journey to understand our universe, and ourselves, is boundless. The more we learn, the more incredible the world becomes. So, embrace the mysteries, keep asking questions, and stay curious—the adventure never ends.