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Every so often, we encounter a thought, a question, or a fleeting realization that shakes the foundation of what we believe we know. It might come from staring into the vastness of the night sky, pondering the bizarre depths of the ocean, or even wondering why someone sees a different color to the one that we do. These moments are subtle reminders that despite centuries of discovery and invention, much of our understanding of the world, life, and the human condition is still stitched together by assumptions and a shared agreement on how things seem rather than how they actually are.
What does it mean to perceive color, to feel consciousness, to laugh, cry, or exist at all? We often lean on science to provide concrete answers, but even the most rigorous fields are riddled with mysteries, contradictions, and evolving theories. So, what are some of the biggest things that are unknown to humanity? Click through this gallery to find out.
We often assume that others see colors the same way we do, but there's no definitive way to confirm it. While we've assigned names to colors to facilitate communication, we can't guarantee that what one person sees as 'blue' is experienced identically by someone else.
Beyond sight, similar perceptual discrepancies occur in hearing. While a person may hear a word spoken in one way, another person may perceive the word in an entirely different manner. There is still much that humanity doesn’t understand about human perception.
It may be that people experience colors or sounds in ways that are fundamentally different from one another. What one person sees as red could be another's blue, and there's no reliable method to verify such inner experiences. This opens up the unsettling possibility that each of us is living in a completely isolated sensory reality.
Water dominates our planet, covering 71% of Earth's surface, and it is essential to life. But we've only explored about 5% to 10% of our oceans, which leaves the majority of marine life and geological formations shrouded in mystery and ripe for discovery.
Even in the small percentage of the ocean we've explored, we've encountered surreal creatures like the blobfish and barreleye fish (pictured). Their strange appearances suggest that much weirder life forms could exist in unexplored depths. The ocean truly is one of Earth's final frontiers.
Throughout history, humans have used ingenuity to survive. We created clothes for cold, shelters for safety, weapons for hunting, and currency to streamline trade. This ability to innovate has been one of our greatest assets as a species.
Yet, the existence of fire raises a profound question: did humans invent it, or simply discover it? Fire exists naturally, but harnessing and controlling it took deliberate effort. This is yet another version of the chicken-and-egg debate that remains on the fringes of the unknown.
Music may have originated as a tool for social bonding in early human communities. Scientists suggest it helped foster unity and cohesion, functioning as a social glue long before it became an art form. But whether music is an invention or a discovery remains up for debate.
Birds sing, whales sing, and even frogs croon. If music is defined as pleasant, structured sound, then nature itself might be its true inventor. This complicates the idea that humans created music, and suggests that we may have only discovered and refined it.
For years, tool use was considered a defining human trait, and they enabled us to build civilizations, solve problems, and evolve rapidly. This capacity was long thought to set humans apart from all other creatures in the animal kingdom.
But primates like chimpanzees use tools in strikingly human ways, such as using sticks to collect food in an exhibit of behaviors that blur the lines between human and animal capabilities. Chimps also show personalities and empathy in ways that indicate a significant depth of emotional and social intelligence.
So, if emotions and tool use don't make us unique, then what does? Scientists once thought humans were the only self-aware beings, but that notion has been steadily dismantled by recent studies revealing similar traits in other species.
We know incredibly little about what happens before birth or after death. Life's temporal boundaries remain elusive, and though we can extensively study the brain, the essence of consciousness and its origin still evade scientific explanation.
People who have been clinically dead and revived report vivid near-death experiences, which suggests that death might not be a definitive end. These stories have fueled both scientific inquiry and spiritual speculation about an afterlife or continued consciousness.
Stonehenge, with its massive upright stones, has baffled experts for centuries. Theories abound (from Druid rituals to burial grounds), but no definitive evidence explains how or why it was built. Its purpose remains a captivating historical mystery.
The same can be said for the pyramids in Egypt. Although we know why they were constructed, we still don’t exactly know how. Were they built by ancient humans using innovative techniques, or with assistance from some unknown force? Despite extensive study, their construction methods are not fully understood.
Another aspect of existence that sits in the realm of blissful ignorance is the placebo effect. When medical patients believe they are receiving real treatment, their brains trigger real healing responses, even if the treatment is actually inert.
Similarly, affirming positive beliefs about oneself can actually change brain chemistry. Studies in social neuroscience show that self-affirmation bolsters confidence and emotional resilience, proving that internal narratives have tangible effects on well-being.
The placebo effect and self-affirmation are just glimpses into the mind's potential. Given how powerful these phenomena are, one can't help but wonder what other abilities the human brain holds that we have yet to uncover or understand.
Space exploration has shown us that Earth is but a tiny speck in an unimaginably vast universe. With billions of galaxies and potentially trillions of planets, it's humbling to recognize how small and possibly insignificant we might be.
Given the vastness of space, it's logical to assume we're not alone. So why haven’t we encountered other intelligent life forms? The absence of contact deepens the mystery, and hints at either our uniqueness or the limits of our detection methods.
Despite advances in physics, we still can't answer basic questions like why matter exists or where atoms come from. These unanswered questions point to the gaps in our understanding of the universe's structure and its origins.
Time affects anything and everything in the universe that has mass and seems linear from our perspective, yet scientists remain unsure what time truly is. Was it invented as a concept, or is it an intrinsic part of the universe that we merely discovered and named?
Laughter has long been considered a social tool, used to bond and express joy. But its occurrence in animals like rats and dolphins complicates this theory and suggests that laughter might be a deeper biological function that isn’t limited to humans.
Similarly, crying is linked to emotional processing and physical regulation, activating the parasympathetic nervous system. But while it is often seen as a sign of sadness, it also accompanies joy, which simply highlights how little humanity actually knows about complex emotions.
Another aspect of human existence that remains mostly unexplained is why most people are right-handed while others are left-handed. Evolutionarily, it would seem more efficient if everyone were ambidextrous, yet that isn't the case. The underlying causes of this asymmetry are still speculative.
Scientific truths often evolve or are disproven over time. Once, Earth was believed to be the universe's center, and even today some fringe theories like the Hollow Earth idea persist. Scientific understanding is both powerful and fallible, and perhaps some of these unknowns will be answered in time.
Perhaps the most important question of all is: what does it mean to exist? This question underlies much of human thought and exploration. It’s a deeply personal and communal quest, one that may never yield a single answer.
In the end, not knowing everything might be the point. Life’s mysteries drive humanity to progress and reflection. The uncertainty can be daunting, but it also makes existence rich, wondrous, and worth the continuous effort to understand.
Sources: (Medium) (Underknown) (Aperture) (Britannica) (Wired)
See also: Lessons that people usually learn too late in life
Everything we don’t know
A journey through the edges of understanding
LIFESTYLE Knowledge
Every so often, we encounter a thought, a question, or a fleeting realization that shakes the foundation of what we believe we know. It might come from staring into the vastness of the night sky, pondering the bizarre depths of the ocean, or even wondering why someone sees a different color to the one that we do. These moments are subtle reminders that despite centuries of discovery and invention, much of our understanding of the world, life, and the human condition is still stitched together by assumptions and a shared agreement on how things seem rather than how they actually are.
What does it mean to perceive color, to feel consciousness, to laugh, cry, or exist at all? We often lean on science to provide concrete answers, but even the most rigorous fields are riddled with mysteries, contradictions, and evolving theories. So, what are some of the biggest things that are unknown to humanity? Click through this gallery to find out.