Today, we had this question posted. In its original form, it read
Why do we see things?
Yes. That seems unquestionably obvious. But, when i try to think about it in my way. I find it as a mystery. Every object(solid,liquid,gas) has atoms.
Now, why only light makes other things visible ? There must be something special about its atoms(atomic structure ) ?
After some edits by quid and Omen, it became a more history-oriented question.
Before then, however, it accrued 4 downvotes (one of which was later removed); after the edit was made, 2 upvotes emerged. There was also a lengthy train of comments prior to the edits.
I think that (especially when we move into public beta) this will come up in the future - questions that are tangentially (if at all) related to the history of science and mathematics, and are instead merely about science and mathematics. What should we do about such questions? Suggest that the OP change the question of place it somewhere else, or have the community edit it? Will downvotes be a proper response (although this is, as has been pointed out in lots of places on Stack Exchange, a personal decision)?
Update:
The question has a net score of 7 (+8, -1) and 2 close votes. I think congratulations are in order for Amit and the community at large for fixing this one up.