The vast change that has come about in our society in the years that have passed since the middle ages is almost entirely a result of the rise of the philosophy of empirical science. There have always been politicians, merchants, artists, and men of religion but their influence has been limited. Our standard of living is immeasurably higher today than at any time in the past due to the honest labor of men of science. Every day that one lives in the absence of disease and want of physical necessities, and in the presence of all of the comforts of modern society one has only these men to thank.

Also, beyond these indirect material gains, science makes accessible to us an understanding of the most basic principles by which our universe is governed. To grasp for the first time the implications of one of these principles is one of the most beautiful and empowering experiences that a person can have. Artists explore the world of the human mind, scientists explore the universe that gave rise to the human mind.