Stephen Hawking’s plan to launch a nanoship to Alpha Centauri sounds like science-fiction precisely because we’ve been imagining this in books for eons
Since time immemorial, humans have gazed into the night sky and found reason for awe and hope. The grandeur of space has always made life on Earth feel fragile, even petty. Does it matter that Lover of Pigs has hoarded half of the tribal harvest and didn’t declare his inheritance of three goats? Will cutting down all the trees for firewood bring on devastating climate change? Can the elders be trusted with the apparatus of village-gossip collection? None of it seems very important when the night sky is glittering overhead.
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