This guy I know is a know-it-all.

When I say I hope they never capture a ghost in a bottle, or release an alien from somewhere in the Nevada desert, he says there is already proof that ghosts exist and the government is holding creatures from outer space.For that matter, I hope Bigfoot runs faster than a camera's eye and the Loch Ness monster swims deeper than the most advanced submarine.Know-It-All says they have already captured Bigfoot and they have pictures of the Loch Ness beast taken from a high-tech sub.And if anyone has personally seen God or heard his voice, then I say good for you. You have no burden of proof for me because if I believe I am a reincarnated soul of a Confederate Civil War soldier, it's OK by me if you hold no truth to this phenomenon."It's been proven," says Know-It-All. "The Bible is fact, and if a kid plays Beethoven, he's not that guy's old soul, he's just a talented kid. You get only one life to live."Science is on a never-ending quest to unlock the mysteries of the universe. Throughout thousands of years of human civilization, scientists tell us about the composition of the planets and the stars, yet despite great efforts, and some supportive data, I still love to ask the question, "Well, who or what put them there?"God is the answer by many, but for those whose faith falls short, they seek material evidence.When I taught a high school philosophy course, we held a debate on the question, "Can the existence of God be proven?" The brightest students in the school debated back and forth for four straight hours using outstanding research from both sides of the argument. At the end of the debate, left without a declared winner and a room full of frustrated young faces, I simply said to them, "The fact is that today we proved that we are left with one obvious answer to another question."Are we supposed to know everything?"Imagine we have an answer for every question. Every single thing in the universe has an explanation that is acceptable to everyone. Curiosity is eradicated by knowledge. Wonder is replaced by looking it up on Google. I would know that alien passed me in the produce aisle at Wegman's. I had dinner with a real ghost last night.Even science would cease to serve any purpose. There would be no more frontiers to explore.Albert Einstein said, "We must never stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing." The wise Greek philosopher Socrates said after all his years of study and contemplation, "The only thing I know is that I don't know anything."I would love to tell Know-It-All that he doesn't know anything, but you know how that would turn out.I like trusting in my faith, yet I realize that what I believe might be proven false. Some people stick stubbornly to their beliefs, which brings about great conflicts with others who think otherwise.Open-minded people are hard to come by these days. Know-It-All has already selected his presidential candidate. No upcoming TV debate or news story will change his mind.Knowledge is supposed to give us power. The more we know, the better off we are supposed to be. Sometimes knowing more about some things freezes our minds from the acceptance of new ideas.A child may lack more knowledge so what he knows today is replaced by what he learns tomorrow. Just the other day my 10-year-old asked me what prevents the moon and the stars from falling out of the sky and crashing into the earth. First I opened my mouth to answer, but I stopped myself. Then I thought to search the Internet so I could try to explain the science behind the question. Finally I decided to answer my son with these words."I don't really know," I said.He looked at me and said, " Right now, it's more fun to look up in the sky at night and wonder about that anyway."Rich Strack can be reached at

katehep11@gmail.com.