The Importance of Physics

Physicists often hear that mathematics is the language of the universe. But physics, it seems, doesn't actually tell us anything about what things are. We're trying to formulate mathematical equations that accurately predict what stuff is going to do. So I sometimes say physics is like playing chess when you don't care what the pieces are made of. The more you can accurately know how matter will behave, the more you can manipulate it. And we have extraordinary technology which leads people to think this is an incredible God's plan for our world. No - none of this is shedding any light at all on what matter is essentially, what Chess players call 'reality'