"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" by Walt Whitman I Poetry Analysis

Are there limits to a scientific and mathematical understanding of the universe? Does it detract from an appreciation of the beauty and mystery of the universe?
It does for the speaker of Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer." Click to find out more!

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The issue that the speaker has with the astronomer is that the astronomer is trying to fully rationalize the universe. Perhaps, that is his way of appreciating the universe, but the speaker might see this as an insult. Something so beautiful, mystical, and majestic cannot be fully measured in human systems. This sterilizes the beauty of the universe. There are some things so beautiful in existence, that it is beyond human comprehension. Beyond our created systems, but we can appreciate and be in awe of these things without having to over explain it, rationalize it, sterilize it. I tend to sympathize with the speaker more as well.