From recent experiments with cosmic-ray-like radiation, we now know that a journey into deep space would be quite hazardous for our brains. Aren’t you happy you chose for your residence a planet with a thick, protective atmosphere that blocks much of the harmful radiation? In spite of our space technology and astronauts' occasional brief stays in space, we are still as bound to this planet as the ancients who could only guess at the nature of the night sky’s points of light.
Getting claustrophobic? You can’t leave this place. If you do, your brain will have holes punched in it by high-speed protons. By the time you arrive to explore Saturn’s moons, you might be too mentally impaired to make good decisions. Nope. You’re here to stay on cloister Earth where there’s risk, but relative safety. Unless…
Unless you signed up for the one-way trip to Mars. A surprising number of people want to go. Let’s see. Mars. Carbon dioxide atmosphere. Dust devils that merge to become planet-wide dust storms driven by high-speed winds that can last months. Ah! Mars. Possible water just below the surface. Some water ice but mostly carbon dioxide ice. Seasons just, or almost just, like Earth’s.
No, stay here in the cloister. The habit you wear is your connection to the planet. Aliens would recognize you as easily as you recognize Sister Mary Milk of Magnesia because of her clothing. You belong to this place. Your organs are all indicative of an Earth-dweller. Rarely threatened by meteorites, you don’t have a skull five inches thick to protect you from bolides. Rarely threatened by X-rays and cosmic rays, your mushy brain is protected by a thin skull beneath a thick atmosphere.
Every aspect of your life is conditioned by an evolution on Earth. You belong here. The walls of the cloister don’t entrap you. They complement what you are. Yes, the words claustrophobia and cloister originated from the Latin noun for a door bolt and the Latin verb for “close.” Yes, you are bolted in. Yes, the door is closed. However…
However, your mind is free to roam the universe even though your brain is locked in the cloister. You can go anywhere mentally. Brain has a sheltered place and wears an identifiable habit. Mind doesn’t.
Getting claustrophobic? You can’t leave this place. If you do, your brain will have holes punched in it by high-speed protons. By the time you arrive to explore Saturn’s moons, you might be too mentally impaired to make good decisions. Nope. You’re here to stay on cloister Earth where there’s risk, but relative safety. Unless…
Unless you signed up for the one-way trip to Mars. A surprising number of people want to go. Let’s see. Mars. Carbon dioxide atmosphere. Dust devils that merge to become planet-wide dust storms driven by high-speed winds that can last months. Ah! Mars. Possible water just below the surface. Some water ice but mostly carbon dioxide ice. Seasons just, or almost just, like Earth’s.
No, stay here in the cloister. The habit you wear is your connection to the planet. Aliens would recognize you as easily as you recognize Sister Mary Milk of Magnesia because of her clothing. You belong to this place. Your organs are all indicative of an Earth-dweller. Rarely threatened by meteorites, you don’t have a skull five inches thick to protect you from bolides. Rarely threatened by X-rays and cosmic rays, your mushy brain is protected by a thin skull beneath a thick atmosphere.
Every aspect of your life is conditioned by an evolution on Earth. You belong here. The walls of the cloister don’t entrap you. They complement what you are. Yes, the words claustrophobia and cloister originated from the Latin noun for a door bolt and the Latin verb for “close.” Yes, you are bolted in. Yes, the door is closed. However…
However, your mind is free to roam the universe even though your brain is locked in the cloister. You can go anywhere mentally. Brain has a sheltered place and wears an identifiable habit. Mind doesn’t.
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