“Sometimes you can’t get the answer. But here is where the beauty comes in: you know there is an answer.”

On Science

by David Burchfield

It was Christmas, and we were somewhat poor. That meant we didn’t get nice presents. But we usually got more than one present each, and Dad and Mom did their best to make it special in other ways. When I was about four or five, I got a book—not just any book, a book of mazes. You know the kind: you trace a line with a pencil from the start to the finish. Sometimes it’s easy, and other times you throw your pencil or book across the room or just stomp around.

I turned to the first page. It took me a second to figure it out, because reading directions wasn’t my strong point, but the old man came over to help. He showed me one, and it seemed easy enough. So I did the next one and the next. After about a half dozen, they started getting harder. The harder they got, the more I had to think. The more I had to think, the greater the sense of pride I felt when I whipped it. And finally the book was done, so I saved my money and bought another and finished it, and so on and so on. Next thing I knew, I was doing different kinds of puzzles, and sometimes I couldn’t solve them. I didn’t know it then, but I was hooked.

Mazes are like science. At first, they seem mysterious and unsolvable. But you know there is an answer. So you work at it and work at it, and when you get the answer, it is awesome. Yet sometimes you can’t get the answer. But here is where the beauty comes in: you know there is an answer. That is science.