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Today we live in a world which is so full of sights and sounds that it is almost overwhelming. With the onslaught of the "electronic superhighway," and its global repercussions, our lives are dictated by our ability or inability to take advantage of the new innovations that have gripped our planet. Our information base, especially in the twentieth century, is built from our use of sensory observations to learn a whole range of new material that is now possible; made possible by super-powerful telescopes, computers, diagnostic equipment, and three-dimensional microscopes that are connected to virtual reality devices that enable scientists to walk among the cells and through the body's arteries. Telephones now allow you to see the person you are talking to on a screen. Who would have thought that as we grew up watching Captain Kirk looking at who he was speaking to on a large screen, that one day we also would have the same technology in our homes? Not I. Inventions such as these continue to open our eyes and ears, and use our sense of touch to discover dimensions most of us never dreamed of: helping us to discover knowledge, even wisdom in innovative ways.
So much of our knowledge seems to come from scientific observations, such as Fleming's endless investigations with his microscope, searching for the combinations he needed to bring us the magical medicine that we still use to treat bacterial infections. Information gained in all sorts of study gives us knowledge. Is all of our knowledge based on empirical observations? Most of us would argue that the combination of our sensory abilities with our brain's ability to compute and understand information is the process that brings us the joys of learning and knowledge. The more we try to learn and internalize, the better our brains seem to get at helping us with the series of actions and reactions that bring us wisdom. Does everyone agree that the senses are an integral component in the search for wisdom? Plato...