A former NASA astronaut, who had an unsettling realization that we’re living a ‘lie’, has spoken about why humanity is ‘paying a very high price’.
Ron Garan began contemplating life on Earth after spending 178 days in space.
The astronaut, fighter pilot, and social entrepreneur spent time aboard the US space shuttle, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and the International Space Station. While observing Earth from space, he experienced what he described as a ‘sobering realization’.
In an interview with Big Think, Garan shared his thoughts: “I saw an iridescent biosphere teaming with life.
“I didn’t see an economy, but since our human-made systems treat everything including the very life-support systems of our planet as the […] subsidiary of the global economy, it’s obvious from the vanish point of space that we’re living a lie.”
Upon returning to Earth, Garan discussed how his perspective changed due to the ‘Overview Effect’.
“The Overview Effect describes the shift that astronauts have when they see the planet hanging in the blackness of space,” Garan said. “There’s this lightbulb that pops up when we realize how interconnected and interdependent we all are.”
Garan further elaborated on his realization that humanity is ‘floating in darkness’ to some extent.
“We think we know the whole picture, when in reality we see a very very small representation,” Garan said.
He argued that because we don’t see the ‘actual picture’, we are unable to ‘solve a lot of the problems that we face’.
“We’re paying a really high price right now, as a civilization,” Garan continued.
“Part of the reasons we’re not solving the problems is because we don’t have the right perspective, we’re not addressing things in the reality of the situation.
“That’s one of the reasons why we… need to get out of the darkness,” Garan emphasized.
After returning to Earth, Garan utilized the Overview Effect to develop the concept of the ‘Orbital Perspective’.
He described the Orbital Perspective as ‘the call to action’, adding: “[It’s] the sense of injustice that we see, when we see the sobering contradiction between the indescribable beauty of our planet and the unfortunate realities of life on our planet for a significant number of the inhabitants.”
Garan urged people to start thinking about life in a way that benefits humanity as a whole, rather than prioritizing the economy and society first.