Mendeleev and Moses

This weekend I was jogging/running (depends on who you ask…I say running, based on how I feel. My speed says jogging.). As per usual, my favorite pod cast, Radio Lab, was playing on the iPod. The episode I had chosen for the run was Yellow Fluff and Other Curious Encounters.

There was a moment in this particular episode that made me stop running. When Oliver Sacks is explaining to Jad and Robert how he imagined Mendeleev as “a sort of Moses, going up to a chemical Sinai and coming down with the tablets of the Periodic Law.” In itself, it’s an imaginative and lovely image. But what made me literally stop in my tracks was what seems to be Robert’s reaction. He audibly gasps.

I gasped at the same time, because the image is so insightful and particularly salient for anyone with an interest in the nature of revelation, be it God’s or the universe’s. The gasp that I heard not only conveys a sheer delight, wonder, and amazement at the mysteries of the universe, but how this imagined idea bears an authentic and sharp insight into a timeless and well-known story. The “truth” of the story of Moses coming down from Sinai with the tablets containing the Ten Commandments resonates deeply (and it seems with Robert Krulwich, as well) when compared to scientific discovery. The laws of the universe never stop being revealed. (The rest of the episode gets at this question of whether or not scientific laws are revealed or constructed.)

There are many notable moments in this particular episode. Too many to describe here. So do yourself a favor this morning and download it and listen to it yourself. In fact, just start subscribing to the podcast. (The description of Mendeleev as Moses is at around 16 minutes.)