“I’ve got a question…maybe it’s unfair.”
“Shoot me! I mean…hit me!”
The evening coffee was just kicking in. It was lecture time, and everyone was gathered to hear about the evening sky, “with a bit about the Webb space telescope” thrown in for good measure. The director of the retirement community sat in the corner to watch, an astronomy fan himself. I had just put up a photo of the Webb “deep field”, displaying some of the earliest galaxies ever seen.
And then, there was a question.
Pretty Pictures
Despite the inexplicable dullness of PowerPoint slides, and their intrinsic ability to kill the soul of the Dawn of Time itself…(I’ll rant later), this image of the Dawn was able to spark the pivotal discussion:
“Who’s got a question?” And then it started.
It Begins
“Jim” held up a star chart. “I can see this any night. Ancients have been looking at it forever. But this Webb image - that’s new. That’s changing. That’s cutting edge, and human exploration. What draws you to just looking up at the same night sky? Isn’t it just a pretty picture that’s been seen before?”
I missed his point at first, Clever being the enemy of True. He tried again. I missed again, but gradually moved closer. The director chimed in with a few of his thoughts.
We had moved beyond PowerPoint.
“Jim” cited an article in The Economist, talking about Greek sculpture. The Brits owned it, the Greeks wanted it back, and an exact replica was unacceptable to both parties. “We want the real deal.”
“Yeah, that’s part of it! I want to see the real photon hitting my eye after going through trillions of miles of space.”
At the end of the day, I excitedly admitted that…I didn’t know. The crux of the question was, and is:
Why do we like to look up?
This simple query could occupy lifetimes of study. There’s the philosophical comparison of the Objective (scientific data of stars), to the Subjective (why they put things in perspective.) There’s an evolutionary neuroscience component: why do we like to look in the first place? Spirituality emerges quickly (“what’s it all about?”)
I don’t think it’s limited to a physical observation. My blind friends yearn for the unseen Infinite.
A Hunger
My audiences seem to share a hunger. I feel like the tour guide on the bus, and we’re driving around looking for the buffet. There are glimpses in the distance, and the occasional whiff of an endless pizza bar. Why do we strive for Infinity and Why do we like to look up seem like we’re zeroing in on what we’re truly after.
While the first stirrings of an idea may appear similar to idle speculation, I’m intent on chasing this one down. Perhaps there isn’t an answer. Maybe a form of it is simple, but either off-limits (God in the afterlife), or disappointingly reductionist (we evolved to like the high ground so we could see prey.)
It seems worth pursuing.
Thoughts?
Josh
Webb photo of the poorly-named NGC 7496. The bright areas are stellar nurseries…!