30 impossible questions that will make you doubt

Doubt is the origin of wisdom. This sentence, written by Rene Descartes, tells us a fundamental fact. We need to doubt things in order to investigate, seek knowledge. Human beings have asked themselves and others numerous questions throughout their history, some transcendental and others much more prosaic and everyday.

But many of these questions do not find or have found a solution, or even though they have, they require a lot of research and reflection. That is why in this article I have collected a series of questions that are impossible and/or difficult to answer for most.

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30 impossible questions

Below is a brief list of impossible questions that will make you doubt, or for which there is no clear answer.

1. Can we choose?

Freedom is one of the most valued concepts, and a large majority of people feel free and capable of leading their lives, making their own decisions. But is this really so? ** are we really free? **

Our behavior is mediated and modulated by different aspects, such as our expectations, social desirability, norms and laws... or even something as simple as our biology can mean that we can't do exactly what we want how and when we want. In addition, it is worth asking what freedom really is, and distinguishing this concept from the fact of doing what we want without further ado.

2. Does the world really exist?

Although it may seem like a strange question and for some even stupid, the truth is that there is no proper way to answer it. The senses tell us yes, but how can we know that everything we see, feel, learn and we live in, all the people we meet and the way the world seems to work are not only an elaboration of our mind?

3. Can we be objective?

This is a complicated question. We can try to abstract ourselves and put aside our beliefs and prejudices, but is total objectivity really possible? After all, our own conception of the world is governed by the assessments we make of it, and our beliefs, values ​​and expectations alter not only what we think of a specific phenomenon but even how we perceive it, at a level foreign to the awareness.

4. Is a psychopath born or made?

The term psychopath could be replaced by any other. While we know that in all that we are there is a combination of biological and environmental factors, the question is to determine if the nucleus of what the subject is comes predetermined genetically or is elaborated with experience. For example, in the case of the psychopath, it is considered that a large part of his way of being is explained by biological elements (being the sociopath the one who acts in a similar way due to the experiences vital).

5. How was life formed?

We know that we are made of matter, just like everything else. But what makes us alive it's a mystery. We can assume the conditions in which life was formed on our planet (and even reproduce those conditions to generate some living cells), but not what exactly caused it to arise and organize itself in a certain way. manner. And this knowledge is limited to how it arose here, there being no clear explanation for the existence of molecules and amino acids in elements such as comets and asteroids.

6. Is there good and evil?

Often the acts and situations are identified as good or bad, these words being constructs elaborated by the human being to assess what happens and how it affects oneself or others. However, morality is something subjective: although almost all people have in some way these types of concepts or ideas, different people will see the same event or action differently, and what is bad for one can be good for another.

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7. How can we be happy?

Almost everyone wants to be happy. However, when we ask ourselves how we can be happy, we are probably not going to be able to give ourselves a valid answer, or at least one that is valid both for us and for the rest of the world. Well-being and happiness are something that can depend on a wide variety of variables, and these variables will change greatly for each person.

8. How did the Universe come to be?

The origin of the Universe is still unknown today, and there are numerous theories and attempts to explain it. Although today The Big Bang theory is one of the most accepted scientifically, the truth is that it is still a theory that cannot be fully demonstrated. In fact, some scientists dispute that this theory is true, that it existed in the previous moments if it was or how it happened.

9. What is death?

A question that many would answer with "the fact of losing one's life", or from a religious perspective as "the passage to another life/reality/reincarnation". But this does not really define what it is or what it entails.

10. Is there life beyond death?

Directly derived from the previous one, whether or not something exists beyond death It's something we can only assume or theorize until we experience it for ourselves.

11. Why do we dream?

The ability to dream is something unique, appearing in both humans and other animal species. But why do we do it? Do our dreams have any meaning? These are questions that have generated multiple theories (psychoanalytic, cognitive, etc.) but for which no definitive experience has been found.

12. What and who am I?

Deep question that does not have an easy answer. Most people respond by indicating their characteristics and their way of being. But this does not finish answering the question. That I am? What does it mean to be me? What makes me different, if I am, from what surrounds me?

• You may be interested in: "Who I am?"

13. Can a person's IQ level be increased?

Traditionally it has been considered that intellectual capacity was a capacity that was determined by biology and development, being able to increase the level of knowledge and train the different skills, but not improve the basic skill, known as fluid intelligence. However, some models propose that intelligence can be increased through training.

14. Are there limits?

Most people consider that there are things that they are capable of doing, things that with training they would be able to do and things that are not possible. But, do the limits really exist or we just haven't found a way to break them yet? In the past it was not believed that man could fly, travel into space or cure certain diseases, and yet it has been achieved.

15. Is intelligence a single ability or are they the union of several independent abilities?

Intelligence is an abstract construct whose definition is, even today, complex and highly disputed. There are various models that propose a single intelligence, others that there is a general ability and then more or less hierarchical specific abilities.

16. Is the world fair? / Is there karma?

The idea of ​​the existence of a cosmic justice, that in the end everyone has what they deserve, is common in a large number of people. There are also those who believe exactly the opposite, or even that justice is nothing more than a concept that does not occur in nature.

17. Can other forms of life exist based on non-carbon elements?

The scientific community has no answer to this question. It is possible to speculate, but all life known so far is based on carbon.

18. Is there intelligent life on other planets?

Another one of those impossible questions based on the threshold of the unknown. It is difficult for us to be alone in the universe, but no evidence has been found in this regard.

19. Is mathematics totally objective?

We have often heard that mathematics is the only totally objective science. However, proofs about the objectivity of something are often based on mathematics, which prevents us from demonstrating the objectivity of the element we use to observe objectivity is fallacious. They are also based on logic, a logic that has been conceptualized by the human being and that as such is subject to subjectivity.

20. What are antimatter and dark energy?

These concepts refer to elements that are deduced from the behavior of matter and energy, but what exactly they are is still unknown and they continue to without being able to directly observe.

21. Does the universe have a beginning? And an ending?

We know that the universe has existed since long before the first human beings came into the world. However, we do not know how it originated (although the Big Bang theory is the most popular), if it had an origin, or if it will end at some point. (although it is speculated that over time it will stop expanding and then begin to contract due to the attraction of black holes.

22. What is behind a black hole?

a great mystery to which no one can give an answer, since not even light is capable of escaping from its interior.

23. What is time?

Apart from defining it as a physical dimension, establishing what exactly time is is not as easy as it seems.

24. To what extent does the environment modify gene expression?

We know that the genes we possess have the basic information of different characteristics, that may or may not express themselves depending on the environment and the vital circumstances surrounding each subject. Genes predispose, but they do not have to be activated. To what extent are they influenced by the environment?

• Related article: "Differences between DNA and RNA"

25. Can we know exactly how long we will live?

To this day, we cannot give an answer to this question. We can give an approximate forecast based on average life expectancy. But we don't know if we will suffer from diseases or have some kind of accident at some point.

26. Is there chance?

Chance and probability are strange concepts, which basically propose that things can happen without a reason for it, casually and unpredictably. But does it really exist or are we facing something that we simply cannot predict yet?

27. Can the sum of infinite numbers give a concrete result?

This question does have an answer, and although it may be surprising to most people, it is yes. It is the number e or Euler's number.

28. Where is consciousness?

Although we know that it is located in the brain and it is suspected that it is linked to the frontal lobe, it is not yet known where exactly it is located or if it is a property arising from the overall activity of the brain.

• Related article: "The 6 levels of loss of consciousness and associated disorders"

29. Can we get to live on other planets?

Our planet is huge and a beautiful place to live, but it is not infinite. You have limited resources and space. It may be that at some point the human being must leave for other planets and colonize them. Is this possible? Could we survive? Astronauts who spend a long time in space lose muscle and bone mass. What would happen to someone who considered living not just for a while but a lifetime in space? Could we terraform an entire planet, or a specific area?

30. Is it possible to transfer our consciousness to an artificial body?

The first interventions aimed at performing a head transplant in humans have recently been carried out (although up to now it has only been tested on cadavers). There are projects They propose going further: transplanting a brain into an artificial body, and in the future even transferring our consciousness to an artificial unit (without a brain itself). But is the latter possible? And if carried out, would we be facing a transfer of consciousness or would a new one really be created and the old and original one (that of the real person) would die?