In a recent, excellent New York Times op-ed, physicist Brian Green (author of “The Elegant Universe”) explained why science is such an important part of our lives. And not just for the obvious reasons — the technology it has led to and may lead to in the future, as well as the issues it helps us understand now, such as climate change and global pandemics — but for the impact it can have on us in our everyday life.

As Greene wrote, “Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional.”

You may be aware of this transformation if you’re a scientist (or a science writer), but rarely does any of the wonder of science, the miracle of discovery ever make it into the classroom. (It certainly didn’t when I was in school.)

Science classes tend to emphasize the technical aspects of science, the equations and the facts, without ever presenting the inspirational aspects of it – they leave out the drama. Fortunately, I was able to find some of those inspirational stories on my own, reading about the “big questions” in science and how the answers to those questions shape the world we live in. In Greene’s view, this is exactly what needs to be injected into science education because it may make a child actually want to learn all those equations and fact.

After all, Greene notes, what makes someone want to learn how to play the piano, learning their scales or hearing the beautiful music they can make once they learn the skill?

“We must embark on a cultural shift that places science in its rightful place alongside music, art and literature as an indispensible part of what makes life worth living,” Greene says.

All of this is part of what we do at LiveScience and SPACE.com - we try to communicate science in a way that captures some of that drama, that can relate science to its larger meaning in our lives.