The Mystery of Discovery

Before achieving their historic first flight, the Wright brothers endured widespread skepticism and ridicule. After their breakthrough, Orville Wright marveled at their achievement. "Isn't it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!" For millennia, no one knew that innovations such as the steam engine, electricity, and radio waves existed, even though they were always there.
Humanity consistently faces challenges and, through dedication and perseverance, uncovers solutions. Penicillin was discovered in moldy bread. Cures have been found for smallpox, polio, and numerous other diseases. In science, the issue is rarely whether a solution will be found, but rather when it will be discovered. The materials necessary for discovery, invention, and success are available, but they are not readily apparent. One may wonder if both the problems and their hidden solutions are a matter of chance. The world seems structured so that people encounter obstacles which, through struggle and determination, are eventually overcome.

The potential for discovery has been especially prominent in the last two centuries. History reveals what is sometimes called the "inverted L curve." For thousands of years, humans traveled on foot, horseback, and in carriages. Yet, in a comparatively brief period, society advanced from the steam locomotive to cars, planes, jets, and even rocket ships that explore space. The same pattern appears in other areas, such as communication. For centuries, people relied on voice, letters, mail, and print. Then, in rapid succession, technology progressed from Morse code to the telephone, film, radio, television, computers, and cell phones.
Why does discovery happen in this way? Is it divine intervention, with secrets revealed only at the right moment? Could an alien super race be observing from afar, testing humanity's ability to progress? If there is no other intelligent life beyond our own, did the process of discovery evolve alongside us? Let's explore the peculiar existence of discovery.