Space and the Olympics

We very recently sent a rather advanced piece of technology all the way to Mars. That's, averaged, about 143 million miles. Through space. Landing the thing involved getting it to slow from 13,200 mph to "landed" with what is basically remote control. On a fourteen minute delay. Without anything much that can be called practice. This Mars rover, Curiosity, cost abut $2.5 billion, and represents another step in space exploration and the advancement of mankind.

Meanwhile the only thing most people seem to care about is the Olympics. Don't get me wrong, I think they're alright in general. But really we're spending around $15 billion to find out who can run faster, jump farther, and do more elaborate spins and flips. While it's all nice and fun, I don't see how it does much of anything for us in the big picture.

See, people are constantly growing, each generation. Reporters are saying that the USA women's beach volleyball "three-peat" will never be done again. That Bolt's double win in the men's 200m and 100m will never be done again. That perhaps no athlete will beat Michael Phelps's 22 Olympic medals. Really, none of that is true. Compare all of these athletes' records and wins with their equivalents from 50 years ago. Now do the same for the second place winners, and the third place winners. Now do the same for all the other athletes in the Olympics.

All of their times, and jumps, and flips, and dives are better. And they will continue to get better. Someone down the road will make Bolt look slow. A duo of women will win beach volleyball not three times, but four. Someone will grab 23+ medals in their Olympic career. But where does that get them? Where does that get us?

The sum of their achievements will be based around that win, or wins. Bolt will be remember because he ran fast. And right now, he's adored for it. People love him because he's the fastest. Eventually someone will beat him. And at that moment, he will be forgotten; the rest of the world will move on to a new Olympian celebrity. And then someone will beat them. This process will continue for as long as the Olympics do.

Voyager. Apollo. Mercury. ISS. Viking. Curiosity. These haven't been and won't be forgotten. We love them not because they are the best at what they do, not because they will always be the best, but because they each represent another step into our collective future. These advancements show our true progress; progress that's been in the making since man first looked at the stars. Progress that we will one day need for our survival, whether we like it or not.

So keep running. Keep swimming. Keep jumping, diving, and flipping. Keep kicking and throwing. Keep your medals, and records, and ceremonies. Just remember your selfish motives: the glory, the record, and the recognition. Those who reach for the mysteries of space and the universe, and even our own planet,  are actively trying to make our lives better, to ensure our future, and to learn as much as they can about ourselves and our universe so that they can give that knowledge to us; so that someday, we might be more than a small particle in the middle of a breathtakingly large, cosmic ocean.