We should be ready to reach out beyond our planet and beyond our solar system to find out what is really going on out there.
We went to the Moon as technicians; we returned as humanitarians.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The experience of going to the Moon shifted the perspective of the astronauts from mere technicians to compassionate beings aware of their global responsibility.
Edgar Mitchell's quote highlights how the journey to the Moon transformed the astronauts from their role as mere technical operators to individuals who gained a deeper understanding of humanity and their place within it. This profound experience fostered a sense of responsibility towards the Earth and its inhabitants, invoking a broader perspective on what it means to be human amidst the vastness of space.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech to emphasize the importance of perspective in scientific endeavors.
More from Edgar Mitchell
All quotes βWe need to make the world safe for creativity and intuition, for it's creativity and intuition that will make the world safe for us.
We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a community, which we have not even acknowledged that that community exists up until this point.
You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics looks so petty.
My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity.
I experienced an ecstasy of unity. I not only saw the connectedness, I felt it and experienced it sentiently. The restraints and boundaries of flesh and bone fell away.
Similar quotes
It could be that at some earlier time, somewhere in the universe, a civilization evolved by probably some kind of Darwinian means to a very, very high level of technology- and designed a form of life that they seeded onto perhaps this planet. And I suppose it's possible that you might find evidence for that if you look at the details of biochemistry, molecular biology, you might find a signature of some sort of designer.
The idea that there could be other universes out there is really one that stretches the mind in a great way.
During the past three years spectacular progress has been made in increasing wheat, rice, and maize production in several of the most populous developing countries of southern Asia, where widespread famine appeared inevitable only five years ago
Brain studies of mental workouts in which you sustain a single, chosen focus show that the more you detach from what's distracting you and refocus on what you should be paying attention to, the stronger this brain circuitry becomes.
Science is a way of getting knowledge. It's a method. It's a method that really relies on making mistakes. We propose ideas, they are usually wrong, and we test them against the data. Scientists do this in a formal way. It's a way that everyone can go through life; that's how we should be teaching science from a very young age.
My wonder button is being pushed all the time.