I’m doing something foolish. I’m writing this while watching NASA TV; the Perseverance rover is landing on Mars. There’s nothing to see but simulations but I’m still enthralled. Sputnik was launched two and a half months after I was born. I’m the same age as the Space Age. Spaceflight is in my cohort. The parachute deployed and I spontaneously applauded. It’s kilometer from the surface. Touchdown confirmed! This is genuinely exciting. I love hearing the groundcrew at NASA. They are breathing sighs of relief. They are cheering. Perseverance is alive.
One of the hosts was asked why she was excited earlier. She said, “We are sending a robot to Mars! Just think about that!” Nothing more needs to be said. People speak of STEM as opposed to the humanities, the truth is that there is nothing more human than science and technology. Archeology is largely the study of ancient technology. Images are in. I can see Mars. We’ve gone from the most advanced tool being a stone hand axe to robots on Mars in one thousandth of the history of the Earth. Did I mention that they didn’t just send a wheeled robot, but they also sent a robot helicopter? Its name Ingenuity.
One thing that’s changed since I was a kid is that instead of hearing about this from Walter Cronkite the hosts are all women. Sadly, most of faces I see at Ground Control are men, but even there it’s not all. They are clearly consciously trying to inspire girls into going into science. There is no inherent reason that men should be better than women at science and technology. If we had a world free of prejudice about half would be women. . People don’t appreciate the importance of that for everyone, not just women. Let’s say a project employed 100 people and 90 were men instead of the expected 50. That means that there are 40 men working on the project that would not be as good as the women that would otherwise be employed. The project would be better. When we deny opportunity to women and minorities, we are denying everyone of the benefits of their talents. Right now, I’m watching an Asian woman that worked on Ingenuity. The best part is watching how excited she is. She is a kid on Christmas morning seeing presents under the tree. They are finishing the broadcast with Yungblud’s cover of Bowie’s Life on Mars being played over pictures people sent in of them celebrating the landing. They are mainly kids.
Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea writing while I watched. I got to live blog. This all hits me where I live; there’s even Bowie. It reminds me that the glass of the world is half-full. How we see the world depends on what we look at. My plan for today was to write about anger. I’ll still do that another day, today I’m inspired to see the light, not the darkness. I can scroll things on Facebook and find posts that frustrate and even infuriate me. There’s no law that says those are the ones I should dwell on. There are plenty of posts of people showing how wonderful they are. There’s Rob celebrating the Mars Landing with a GIF of Marvin the Martian. Here’s Nancy posting a fond memory of a bookstore. A friend got his second shot; I’m seeing post after post about Perseverance. I’m not the only one that cares. I’m skipping over the post that infuriates me. Heather is listening to José González. Shelly posted a video of one of her favorite songs because WFUV just played it. I’ll quote a different Rob, “This is what a literate, science-based culture that embraces exploration, knowledge, technology & teamwork looks like. This moment was so needed in bringing people together and celebrating our nation’s achievements.” Claudia is celebrating that people are helping cold-stunned sea turtles in Texas. Tara said, “Just watched NASA’s rover land on Mars in real time. At that exact moment, some folks on Earth were shoveling snow while others were trying to get their electricity back on. Some folks were eating a tuna fish sandwich while others were fishing. Some were watching Netflix, napping, arguing, dancing, crying, doing laundry, ordering pizza, reading a book, changing a diaper, giving birth, catching a train, writing an email, sending a text, feeding the birds, singing a song. So much is happening on Earth. But with Perseverance, scientists are exploring other planets so that humans can evolve in ways beyond our imagination. Even with life on hold as we know it, progress is happening with perseverance.” I could go on and on.
Never forget; “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” That’s true even if your name isn’t Horatio. If the world looks bleak look in another direction and you’ll find wonders. That doesn’t mean you should ignore the bleak, but when you look at it, do so to beautify it. Isn’t that what NASA is doing? There aren’t enough women working at NASA, so they actively try and recruit more. If people are being unkind, you can make things better by being kind yourself. I was talking to a friend about another friend. We both feel that when we see her, she makes us feel better. That’s something to aspire to. I’ll throw in one more quote. This one from John Coltrane, but it has nothing to do with music. “I want to be a force for real good. In other words. I know that there are bad forces, forces that bring suffering to others and misery to the world, but I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.”
Wise Madness 