The word "discovery" literally1 means, uncovering something that’s hidden from view. But what really happens is a change in the viewer. The familiar offers comfort few can resist, and fewer still want to disturb. But as relatively2 recent inventions such as the telescope and microscope have taught us, the unknown has many layers. Every truth has geological strata3(层) , and you can’t have an orthodoxy(正统) without a heresy4(异端) .
The moment a newborn opens its eyes, discovery begins.
I learned this with a laugh one morning after delivering a calf5. When it lifted up its fluffy6(蓬松的) head and looked at me, its eyes held the absolute bewilderment(困惑,迷乱) of the newly born. A moment before it had the even black nowhere of the womb, and suddenly its world was full of colour, movement and noise. I’ve never seen anything so shocked to be alive.