Flying Stars
Two marvels continue to spark my imagination even though I understand their basic scientific underpinnings and explanations: flight and stars. While scientists and engineers still refine their knowledge surrounding air travel, the basic equations and laws of physics have dispelled any mystery surrounding flight. Observation has dispelled the mystery of the stars has dissipated to the point where cosmologists are left studying the smallest fraction of a second following the origin of the universe. The massive telescopes and arrays look far into the past and scientists can determine by light, heat and other radiation values, the nature and age of distant stars and galaxies.
While there is much we can still learn the mystery is gone. Gone are the days when we worshipped birds because of their ability to escape the forces that keep man grounded to the earth. As for the stars, horoscopes linger as the remaining remnants of mystery when the world was defined and ruled by mythology. Nevertheless human passion and wonder do not stop in the face of definition. Indeed, the answers that flow from good science usually create better questions. Indeed the more we know, the more we realize we don't know.
For me the drive toward continual learning emerges from an innate sense of wonder and awe for all the marvelous things around me, but especially flight and the stars. One evening after playing two or three friendly sets of tennis my good friend and I decided to run a few extra laps around the high school track. All of the lights were off and there was no moon in the sky. As we jogged the stars in the sky began to appear one by one.
While I have a healthy interest and curiosity in these celestial orbs my prowess is limited to distinguishing stars from planets. My friend? He was not only versed in the constellations but he could name several stars by name and a few of them by number. He had also done some of the rigorous work to understand some of the math behind the explanations. While I have read A Brief History of Time, he could process its significance on a level that was beyond mine. But his character was such that he always humbly shared these tidbits of wisdom and knowledge.
On that night, Jim truly impressed me with his understanding. As we made a turn along the track, a star appeared fairly low in the horizon. It was bright enough to be a planet but the light wasn't entirely steady. I had never observed such a star. So I pointed out the star and asked what it was.
"That's D4387."
"Seriously, you know the number of that star?"
"Sure, it's pretty well known."
"Wow!"
At this point we began walking to cool down. Suddenly it occurred to me as Jim began to gently laugh; the D stood for Delta, as in Delta Airlines. You see, there is still a little mystery left in flight and the stars.
While there is much we can still learn the mystery is gone. Gone are the days when we worshipped birds because of their ability to escape the forces that keep man grounded to the earth. As for the stars, horoscopes linger as the remaining remnants of mystery when the world was defined and ruled by mythology. Nevertheless human passion and wonder do not stop in the face of definition. Indeed, the answers that flow from good science usually create better questions. Indeed the more we know, the more we realize we don't know.
For me the drive toward continual learning emerges from an innate sense of wonder and awe for all the marvelous things around me, but especially flight and the stars. One evening after playing two or three friendly sets of tennis my good friend and I decided to run a few extra laps around the high school track. All of the lights were off and there was no moon in the sky. As we jogged the stars in the sky began to appear one by one.
While I have a healthy interest and curiosity in these celestial orbs my prowess is limited to distinguishing stars from planets. My friend? He was not only versed in the constellations but he could name several stars by name and a few of them by number. He had also done some of the rigorous work to understand some of the math behind the explanations. While I have read A Brief History of Time, he could process its significance on a level that was beyond mine. But his character was such that he always humbly shared these tidbits of wisdom and knowledge.
On that night, Jim truly impressed me with his understanding. As we made a turn along the track, a star appeared fairly low in the horizon. It was bright enough to be a planet but the light wasn't entirely steady. I had never observed such a star. So I pointed out the star and asked what it was.
"That's D4387."
"Seriously, you know the number of that star?"
"Sure, it's pretty well known."
"Wow!"
At this point we began walking to cool down. Suddenly it occurred to me as Jim began to gently laugh; the D stood for Delta, as in Delta Airlines. You see, there is still a little mystery left in flight and the stars.
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