The Overview Effect: December 2017

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Goodbye to the 30th Anniversary Year

This year was many things to many people. Each of us had our own experience that made it special. For me, it was the fact that November of 2017 marked the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution. Looking back, I am grateful for so many people and things that have been part of those 30 years.

Although the book has never been a best-seller, it has been steady and has grown in notoriety over the years. I am deeply grateful that the current publisher AIAA, has seen fit to publish the second and third editions, and have now approved a fourth edition.

I am also deeply grateful to Felix Hoch, Hans Gubbels, Mischa Horninge, and Govert Derix, who organized the Overview Symposium in Kerkrade, the Netherlands. I gave the keynote address at the event and it was a fitting way to celebrate the "birthday" of The Overview Effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hOVdLf39s8&index=3&list=PL0MBQnVQSXOLsO3CgZHvXn5h-YyUEiUns&t=243s

Of course, I am also appreciative of my friends and colleagues at the Overview Institute, especially David Beaver and Alex Howerton, who have been supporting and promoting the Overview Effect for the past 10 years. In fact 2017 was the 10th anniversary of the inaugural Overview Effect conference, held in Washington, DC, as part of the annual Space Frontier Foundation conference.

Looking ahead, we can anticipate a number of other anniversaries.

For example, it will be the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission in 1968. This marked the first time we had really seen the whole Earth from space and it was also the moment when we first saw "Earthrise" as our home planet seemed to rise above the moon. It will also be the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Overview Institute, which took place at the International Space Development Conference in Washington, DC.

Looking back at all that has happened in the past 30 years, I am excited about the next 30!

Copyright, Frank White, 2017, All Rights Reserved

The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution is available at aiaa.org and amazon.com

The New Camelot: the Quest for the Overview Effect is available at Apogee Prime

http://www.cgpublishing.com/prime/bookpages/9781926837383.html

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Goodspace

My friend and colleague Dylan Taylor wants us to adopt a different way of thinking about space exploration and development. Instead of "Old Space" and "New Space," he suggests we talk about "Goodspace." (1)

To state it simply, Dylan points out that "Old Space" companies can do good things and "New Space" companies can do bad things. So we should look at what happens in outer space the way we look at what happens on Earth: is it good or bad, for humanity and for the environment?

Thus, Dylan's concern is not Old Space and New Space per se, but all false dichotomies that are neither relevant nor essential. In his essay, he says:

"I would like to offer a new term to describe what I do think is relevant and essential, 'Goodspace.'

It represents a way of thinking about the world and humanity. Do you believe that the world is inherently cruel, people are selfish and resources fixed and scarce? Or do you believe that the best of humanity thrives on collaboration, that our best days as a species lie ahead of us, and that we can grow the pie for the benefit of everyone?" (2)

Ultimately, ways of thinking shape ways of acting. Goodspace is an optimistic perspective that we can carry outward into the solar system as we occupy a vastly larger ecosystem than humanity has known in the past. It is an exciting opportunity, but one we can fail to use effectively if we have the wrong worldview.

In Dylan's words:

"Going forward, I would encourage all of us to think of space, not in terms of old and new, big and small, government and commercial. Think of it in terms of mentality. Is it optimistic? Is it visionary for what our potential as a species can be? Is it Goodspace? I believe this is the prism we should evaluate space activities through and this should be the standard we hold ourselves to in terms of our personal allocation of time and resources." (3)