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Because the conditions for the universe to allow for this configuration of matter existed before man. Humans, a product of the universe itself, just discovered

Because the conditions for the universe to allow for this configuration of matter existed before man. Humans, a product of the universe itself, just discovered or found a way to configure matter this way. Great question though and one I like to ponder myself. Like the logic to describe math itself is put down by humans but that that logic is able to exist at all for humans to discover or exlore is perplexing.

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rimunroe 3y ago
> Because the conditions for the universe to allow for this configuration of matter existed before man. > Humans, a product of the universe itself, just discovered or found a way to configure matter this way. If you accept this as the distinction between "discovery" and "manufacturing", then everything in existence is discovered rather than manufactured, which feels like a useless distinction to make. I think this is just an inherently fuzzy line. An ancient example of this is the debate around whether mathematical concepts are discovered or invented.
- anonymouskimmer 3y ago
  > then everything in existence is discovered rather than manufactured The first time this is true. But the second time it's a known process with a known outcome (and if it isn't, then you've just discovered something else). The first time is always science. The second time is usually technology.
  - rimunroe 3y ago
    Sorry, yes, I should have specified that
- iamerroragent 3y ago
  "everything in existence is discovered rather than manufactured, which feels like a useless distinction to make." Is it all that fuzzy or useless if you shift your thinking to view things as discoveries made by you rather than manufactured by you? Manufacturing something could be a process carried out by human intelligence but the knowledge to process stuff into something 'more' is a discovery to be made. i.e. people make/invent chairs but discovered/experience a universe that lets them sit on chairs.
  - rimunroe 3y ago
    So humans discovered a way for matter to be configured in a new configuration for this uranium isotope, but we didn't discover how to arrange things into the shape of a chair?
    - iamerroragent 3y ago
      No? You just showed up to observe the universe and was gifted some ability to manipulate it to your advantage. You can say you were first to have an idea and we have a society that says you can have a right to 'own' that idea to sell or make money from it. But you didn't make a universe; a universe made you and you get to have ideas that are new, hopefully.

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rimunroe 3y ago

> Because the conditions for the universe to allow for this configuration of matter existed before man. > Humans, a product of the universe itself, just discovered or found a way to configure matter this way. If you accept this as the distinction between "discovery" and "manufacturing", then everything in existence is discovered rather than manufactured, which feels like a useless distinction to make. I think this is just an inherently fuzzy line. An ancient example of this is the debate around whether mathematical concepts are discovered or invented.

anonymouskimmer 3y ago
> then everything in existence is discovered rather than manufactured The first time this is true. But the second time it's a known process with a known outcome (and if it isn't, then you've just discovered something else). The first time is always science. The second time is usually technology.
- rimunroe 3y ago
  Sorry, yes, I should have specified that
iamerroragent 3y ago
"everything in existence is discovered rather than manufactured, which feels like a useless distinction to make." Is it all that fuzzy or useless if you shift your thinking to view things as discoveries made by you rather than manufactured by you? Manufacturing something could be a process carried out by human intelligence but the knowledge to process stuff into something 'more' is a discovery to be made. i.e. people make/invent chairs but discovered/experience a universe that lets them sit on chairs.
- rimunroe 3y ago
  So humans discovered a way for matter to be configured in a new configuration for this uranium isotope, but we didn't discover how to arrange things into the shape of a chair?
  - iamerroragent 3y ago
    No? You just showed up to observe the universe and was gifted some ability to manipulate it to your advantage. You can say you were first to have an idea and we have a society that says you can have a right to 'own' that idea to sell or make money from it. But you didn't make a universe; a universe made you and you get to have ideas that are new, hopefully.