Thursday 13 April 2017

the overview effect

An advocate for independent space exploration launched a weather balloon into the upper reaches of the stratosphere to send Dear Leader a missive and hopefully some perspective—though sadly the message is over the heads of him and his supporters who’ve been steadfast no matter what outrage is unleashed.
Though seemingly discourteous at first or a squandered opportunity “Look at that, you son of a bitch” is actually a rather poignant quote from astronaut Edgar Mitchell, expressed when he first went in orbit and experienced the overview effect, a shift in awareness when one hangs naked in the void of space and sees how tiny and fragile the Earth is. Mitchell, after his moment of awaking said that he wanted to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, “Look at that, you son of a bitch!”