“Today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact.” Issac Asimov

“The function of science fiction is not always to predict the future but sometimes to prevent it.” Frank Herbert

“Anything you dream is fiction, and anything you accomplish is science, the whole history of mankind is nothing but science fiction.” Ray Bradbury

“Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes which it is useful to make, because little by little they lead to the truth.” Jules Verne

“Blessed are those who read science fiction for they shall inherit the future.” Thomas M. Disch

HEY!! I AM LOOKING AT YOU!! THAT’S WHO!! LOLOLOLOLOL

I hope that everyone had a great February. I sure did. For most of the month Old Man Winter made a comeback on the Front Range and in the mountains. It does make it a little difficult to run outdoors but we live in a high plains desert, so all moisture is welcome.

In January, I again did not get into the Leadville 100 Run. But I will try again next year. Lol. Probably if I did some volunteer work for them it would up my chances in the lottery. I did sign up for a few other races in the process though. The Horsetooth half marathon here in Fort Collins. Always a great race and fun to do. The next one was the Quad Rock 25 / 50. Which is in Fort Collins too. I have done the 25 mile version of this multi times but I always sign up for the 50. Unfortunately I have never been able to complete it. Usually I time out at the 25 mile mark and last year was no different. Of course my goal this year is to complete the whole 50 miles. So we will see!! The third race I signed up for was the Run Rabbit Run 100. I will try it again. It is tough. I think the Leadville is an easier race but don’t tell Ken Chlouber! For those of you who don’t know him he was the founder of the Leadville 100 Run. I would probably never get in again if he knew. I will probably add a fourth race. The Silver Rush 50 in Leadville to have one more 50 miler in prior to the Run Rabbit Run.

In this blog post I want to continue with the theme of Space and to add Science / Science Fiction. Now you might be wondering why I am continuing on this path of “Space” and getting off the planet? I mean it seems like I might be pounding on the soap box too much? Right? Well recent events this past January and February have me thinking otherwise. The out break of the “new to humans” Corona virus in China is a very, very good reason for getting off the planet in a big way if we are serious about the survival of humanity. As the world population continues to grow you can expect more outbreaks like this, especially with the ease of international travel. There is always the chance that the next one will be even worse, higher fatality rate, easier transmission, etc… Humans need a second home. Not to abandon the first one but a second one in which we can establish a firm foothold, so when the next pandemic hits, we have insurance to prevent extinction.

Another aspect of getting off the planet is part of what you see going on with politics right now. Specifically I am talking about the isolationist tendencies of our current government, among other things. There was a time in history in which our country welcomed immigrants. Truly welcomed them. We needed them to help “tame” the West so to speak. Western Civilization was expanding and people were desperately needed in this expansion. To build the railroads, to open up new towns, to mine resources, populate the vast open stretches of the Western United States. Now, what do you hear and see: Keep them out, go home, we don’t need you, we’re building a wall, etc… The truth, this will get worse. And not just here in the United States. We have tamed the West and the world. Humanity needs a new place to build and grow AND more importantly to explore! And the only viable alternative is up. What was the line that Captain Picard stated at the first of every “Next Generation” Star Trek episode? “Space the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. It’s continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Now to get to the other part of this blog post. I want to talk a little bit about Science / Science Fiction and in the process, religion. To start, I want you to know Science and Science Fiction are one of my favorite types of literature. So I am a little biased towards the genre. I see both as a “literature of ideas” that explores how scientific and technological innovations affect our psychology and more importantly the sociology of humans. When you look back at the history of the last 10,000 years you can see how warfare, religious movements, famine, natural disasters, disease, etc… caused significant change in human society. These events were the original drivers of transformation. That was until about the seventeenth century. A switched occurred at this time and it was all brought about by revolutions in science and technology. Think Galileo, Rene Descartes, John Locke, Blaise Pascal, Robert Hooke, Pierre deFermat, Thomas Hobbes, Edmond Halley, Sir Issac Newton, etc…. The scientist of the 17th century and later have greatly altered humanity’s knowledge base and with it, changed our understanding of our place in the natural world and the universe.

This “Scientific and Technological” transformation has continue all the way up to present. But there is a difference. Now we are fast approaching a time in which changes in techno-science, that once took years, decades, and even centuries to develop are happening in months, even days sometimes. The question becomes, how will humanity continue to adapt to this rapidly changing environment? What framework do we have to help with this adaptation? Our mythologies, our religions, our current framework, without a corresponding transformation, will not adapt to this rapid pace of technological advancement. We need something different. A new philosophy that is based on the religions of old, except for one big change.

And here is the idea. Imagine if you were to take all the religions of the world and condense them down by removing all the “godhead” mumbo jumbo of mythical beings and just set it aside. In my humble opinion it is a detriment to world harmony and is not needed. Imagine that. No more “my god is the only true god, my god is better than your god, my god told me to…, blah, blah, blah, blah….. You get the picture. So what are you left with? The lessons, the parables. All the things that humanity has painstakingly learned and relearned over 1000s and 1000s of years. Sounds good right? But we are not done yet. Now go through all that is left and only take the best. Anything that is derogatory to women, race, color, sexual orientation, etc… Throw it out. If there is something that promotes slavery, violence, hatred and/or divine right, then throw that out too. And keep doing this process with each religion until you have the core essence of the best parables and lessons on humanity, philosophy, morality and love, etc…

Now combine them and rewrite it. After that is done, go back through, read it, review it and rewrite it again. And again. Combining the best of each religion with each other by writing and editing and rewriting. Over and over again and again. Until you have a cohesive whole. A new manifesto. A new world philosophy without a godhead but based on the old religions. A philosophy that all of humanity could get behind because all parts of humanity had a “part” in its creation. Wouldn’t that be cool? No justification for the subjugation of women. No justification for war, violence, hatred of one race over another. No justification for slavery. No justification for “one sexuality” over another. And on and on it goes. That would be pretty cool and you might think that would be it. That would be enough? You have this great philosophy that everyone can get behind, what else do you need?

Good question. What else do we need? We need a way that the new “philosophy” can be tweaked a little bit when needed. As our tools change so does our reality. And this is what is happening to the “Old mythologies” or religions. Reality changes but they don’t. So the idea is not to write it in stone but to make something that is a little more malleable. The rate of world change is heating up. What was once “SiFi” yesterday is tomorrow’s reality and it is only going to get faster. We still need the lessons from the old religions. After all for now, we are still “human” and destined to make mistakes. Hubris is part of the human condition. The atomic bomb was the first real scientific development that put all of humanity at risk for extinction. But it will not be the last. How will we manage these emerging technologies for the betterment of humankind? And what framework can we use to analyze them with in order to make intelligent choices? The old religions with the godhead figures are at best passe, at worst dangerously inadequate. It is time for something different.

Well that is going to be about it for this soapbox. I think that it was long enough! Lol. I am hoping that I have given you something to think about. All I can say is that it is more important than ever to do your own research on this subject. Again there is that technology thingy – changing your reality. You have sooooo much information at the tip of your fingers. All you have to do is access it. Unreal when you think about it. REMEMBER at one time it was just Science Fiction. Oh and one last thing before I finish, I want to include a YouTube video by Alain de Botton. He does a pretty good job on this subject. It is well worth the watch no matter what your beliefs are. https://youtu.be/2Oe6HUgrRlQ

I am excited to see what the next 10 years brings in scientific research and understanding of our place in the Cosmos. I feel that we are just on the verge of some truly amazing breakthroughs. Of course only time will tell. So take care my friends and I hope to see you out there!! Adios!!

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous.., leading to the most amazing views.” Edward Abbey