[HN Gopher] The Overview Effect
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The Overview Effect
Author : acdanger
Score : 39 points
Date : 2021-08-15 12:10 UTC (10 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (en.wikipedia.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (en.wikipedia.org)
| throw09382380 wrote:
| I felt something akin to the overview effect when I used
| psychedelics.
|
| It was the realization that my internal conflicts, like the
| conflicts of the world, were arbitrary and that reality offers so
| much more.
|
| Hard to explain. But perhaps this could also help those who can't
| travel to space.
| legrande wrote:
| I think it's everyone's birth-right to see Earth in its entirety.
| Not in some picture or video, but to be in space and see it
| floating like some fragile embryo in the womb.
|
| That's why I'm not overly cynical about the space billionaires
| who want to democratize trips to space and in the words of Bezos,
| 'build a road to space'.
|
| Not seeing the very planet you were born on, from a bigger
| perspective is like being a caretaker of a prison (or garden!)
| never having seen the entire prison (or garden!) from the
| outside.
| falcor84 wrote:
| If you're serious about advocating such a birthright, I'd
| suggest you start by enabling and encouraging everyone on Earth
| to travel to outside their country even once. It's surprising
| how many people haven't, even in the US[0] and Europe [1].
|
| [0]
| https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2019/05/02/percentage-o...
|
| [1] https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/eng/News/Data-
| news/190...
| Tepix wrote:
| It's remarkable to see such similar numbers (40% vs 37%). I
| had imagined there'd be a much greater difference. In Germany
| only 18% of those asked had never left the country. That
| includes young people of course who will probably travel to
| other countries in the future.
| amelius wrote:
| > Not seeing the very planet you were born on, from a bigger
| perspective is like being a caretaker of a prison never having
| seen the entire prison from outside.
|
| Let's flip that around. Anyone born in space should never be
| taken to the prison that is Earth! See how odd that sounds?
|
| Your spaceship is the prison, not Earth.
| CapitalistCartr wrote:
| I bet our descendants don't agree with you.
|
| "Why would anyone want to live dirtside?"
|
| "Why, I'm already out of that gravity well, halfway to
| anywhere."
|
| "They don't even control the weather down there; anything can
| happen. People _die_ from the _weather_ there. "
|
| And the bugs. Horrible. They're _everywhere_. All kinds of
| weird ones, too. Why would anyone live like that. So much
| better living here where _we_ are civilized. I can take off
| to Mars Station, or Ceres, or Galileo Main. Or anywhere,
| really. "
| toiletaccount wrote:
| that's a nice idea.
| [deleted]
| Tepix wrote:
| Even if you're on the ISS, you're still in a very low orbit.
| Can you even get all of earth (the side that is facing you)
| into your field of view at once on ISS? If not, how far would
| you have to go to manage that?
| 4ad wrote:
| You would only see one hemisphere from infinity.
| stirfish wrote:
| I like to think of it as more of a garden than a prison.
| pydry wrote:
| Cant wait to see if it makes bezos less of an asshole.
| Tepix wrote:
| Perhaps the overview effect can be achieved with a good virtual
| reality experience. SpaceVR are working on it.
| feudalism wrote:
| Already mentioned in the brief article:
|
| > In 2018, the Spacebuzz project was created so "children
| around the world can also get to experience the Overview
| Effect."[18] It was announced in a press release on December 20
| by astronaut Andre Kuipers on the European Space Agency's (ESA)
| website.[19] Spacebuzz aims to give children an overview effect
| like experience using virtual reality (VR) in order to have the
| same insight astronauts have when seeing planet Earth from
| space. Spacebuzz is a project started by the Overview Effect
| Foundation backed by ESA and the Netherlands Space Office.[18]
|
| > In late 2019 it was reported that researchers at the
| University of Missouri aimed to reproduce the experience, with
| an isolation tank, half a tonne of Epsom salts, and a
| waterproof VR headset.[20]
| [deleted]
| Sniffnoy wrote:
| I read an article somewhere about how it's possible the idea of
| the "overview effect" might actually just be putting a positive
| spin on the earlier "breakaway effect" or "break-off phenomenon".
| I thought it was this [0] article by Gwern, but on rereading,
| while it discusses both effects, it doesn't seem to actually make
| that claim. Hm. Wonder what I was thinking of.
|
| [0] https://www.gwern.net/Scanners
| sto_hristo wrote:
| > the need to create a planetary society with the united will to
| protect this "pale blue dot" becomes both obvious and imperative
|
| Change of perspective doesn't change objective reality of human
| nature as the latter is immutable and outside control of
| observer, while the prior is very mutable and anyone can warp it
| as much as tech allows them.
| mola wrote:
| So human nature is immutable? What's so special about human
| nature that makes it a constant while almost everything else is
| so clearly mutable. Heck we humans even observe changes on
| geological time scales...
| sto_hristo wrote:
| It simply is immutable. That is how things are. I don't need
| to convince you of objective reality; you're free to try and
| unite everyone in peace and harmony to protect that pale blue
| dot.
|
| And by saying "not mutable" i don't mean that is doesn't
| change. Of course everything changes, constantly moves, is in
| motion. It's just that you can't do jack shit about it or
| determine how it will change. You can't mutate the process as
| this process is beyond you.
| Tepix wrote:
| Source?
| sto_hristo wrote:
| Reality itself. My deepest apologies if that goes against
| your fantasies, but maybe if you shout loud enough at the
| Moon, reality will bent to your wishful thinking and
| everyone will humbly live happily ever after caring for
| the pale blue dot.
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