Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization

Although skeptics feel that people should fix earthly problems before exploring space, Tyson suggests that humans can do both and points out that social issues such as poverty predate space exploration. He likens this mindset to the notion of prehistoric people refusing to leave their caves until they make them perfect and argues that expanding research territory can result in discoveries that benefit society. Such ideas are difficult to imagine because human thought patterns are linear, while progress is exponential. He illustrates this concept through examples, such as offering a hypothetical choice between $5 million dollars or a penny doubled each day for a month; although most would select the first option, the second is superior because it amounts to a significantly greater sum. Scientific research often occurs in extremely large and small mathematical ranges that are difficult to imagine. The human lifespan impacts time perception, as evident in the argument that evolution is too slow to explain life on Earth, which arises from humans not having witnessed evolution from a broader perspective. While many struggle to believe that evolution could yield such biological diversity, the human lifespan presents difficulties in comprehending evolution’s vast time scale. Exponential growth and time combined show that human knowledge and progress are have likewise grown exponentially: Both social and technological rates of progress constantly increase and rely on fundamental research. For instance, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was instrumental in development of the global positioning system (GPS).

Collective human knowledge grows exponentially because each new researcher has access to the ever-growing body of information. A secondary phenomenon is that the people of each generation feel that they are living through a special time. Tyson supports the exponential growth of knowledge by measuring the midpoint in his collection of The Astrophysical Journal and finding that the amount of research the journal published has increased significantly. Academia has also grown because of increased numbers of researchers and increased collaborative efforts. Tyson hypothesizes ways to measure exponential social growth by examining prominent inventions in 30 year spans from 1870 through 2020. In each era, if someone were transported from the initial year to the final year of the span, they would be shocked with the advancements. Linear thinking is likewise evident when people attempt to predict what the future will look like. Predictions for the year 2050 are “bleak” and include forecasts of an apocalypse, catastrophic plagues, and ominous artificially intelligent oppressors. Tyson predicts that 2050 will see cures for mental illness and cancer, self-driving cars, commodification of space travel, abilities to regrow limbs, and useful artificial intelligence. He concludes by reinforcing that science drives social progress and that both advance at exponential rates.

Individuals who travel to space have experienced perspective shifts, particularly due to the lack of visible social divisions. Two regions of social division can be seen from space: a visible division between irrigated and desert lands lies between Israel and the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and a stark contrast between light and dark lies between South Korea and North Korea. In both instances, the visible differences correlate with the countries’ financial status. Tyson witnessed a similar phenomenon in 1992 when flying over South Africa at night and noticing an area of the city with no lights, which he initially assumed was a lake but later learned was a section of subjugated Black individuals. Such sights have made Tyson question whether humans are wise enough for long-term species survival.

From the moon, Earth appears fragile and isolated. The Apollo 8 mission that transmitted the “seminal photo” of Earthrise from the moon took place over Christmas in 1968, which was also the most violent year of the Vietnam War. The astronauts on Apollo 8 read aloud from the Book of Genesis. Madalyn Murray O’Hair of the American Atheists sued the government for the religious display, but the case was dismissed. Tyson imagines that he would have told O’Hair to shut up. The Apollo missions coincided with social and political change aimed at protecting the earth, such as the Comprehensive Clean Air Act (1970), the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (1970), the Clean Water Act (1972), and early fuel emissions standards (1973). Tyson believes that this progress was driven by the Apollo missions, which strengthened the concept of a cosmic perspective among the public.

Moon symbolism appears throughout various cultures and corresponds with numerous superstitions. Part of scientific literacy is being able to ask properly formed questions: “Often the answers reveal themselves simply by asking the right questions in the right sequence” (58). Tyson demonstrates the implausibility of, first, werewolves shifting under the light of the full moon and, second, the idea that the full moon increases gravity enough to result in more births. While the moon does impact Earth’s gravity, the gravitational distortion is weaker than the distortion caused by a person’s skull when they lay their head on a pillow. The moon moves about 1.5 inches away from Earth each year, meaning that it will eventually leave Earth’s orbit. In addition, it occasionally passes between Earth and the sun, causing an eclipse. Humans have long attributed earthly and personal events to celestial phenomena. Tyson suggests that the distant image of Earth on the cover of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot could reset humanity’s “mission statement.” He hypothesizes that major cosmic revelations may include the discoveries that other life exists or that humans are in a simulation, a zoo, or a snow globe, and he posits that aliens might do a better job caring for humans than we can ourselves.