Where does our sense of awe come from.
We have an emotional response to new-found knowledge. It's pretty common to be awestruck and dumbfounded when we try to grasp the size and composition of the universe or to have a powerful sense of wonder looking through the eyepiece on a dark silent night.
It's kind of ironic that we interpret and process the data with the aid of emotions. Learning is a high and we're probably wired with receptors that allow us to "get off" on our new discoveries.
If something feels good, we'll do more of it. Must be an evolutionary thing.