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Good morning. By January  1493, Christopher Columbus had arrived in the Americas and was preparing to  return. On this day, sailing along the coast of what is now the Dominican Republic,  he recorded in his journal a sighting of three "mermaids" rising out of the sea. He wrote ‘they are not so beautiful as they are said to be’. Apparently even pre Disney mermaids were expected to be exceptionally beautiful.  

But the fact is that the disappointed discoverer had got it wrong. The assumed mythical mermaids were in fact manatees, those unusual marine mammals also known as sea cows. The manatee’s vaguely human features were mistaken from afar. This was not one of the great discoveries of Christopher Columbus.

It’s remarkable, with the benefit of hindsight, how even the brightest and most self-assured of human beings can get it wrong. I wonder how future generations will consider the ideas of my generation.  Even as the great discoverers of our era get to grips with the complexities of dark matter and neutrinos, I’m reminded of Hamlet’s comment to his good friend, ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’
When I was younger I was certain I was right about most things most of the time. But as I get older I find I question myself more. I tend to believe that ‘I don’t yet see things clearly. I’m squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.’

Lord God, thank you for the curiosity that drives us to pioneer, to discover and learn. Help us to balance great knowledge with humility and love, Amen.