We take it for granted, but I am continually, quietly amazed that we can even conceive and develop all this knowledge, with a brain that until recently (in geologic terms) just got us from tree limb to tree limb. It’s astounding, when you ponder that.

Here’s the thing, though. To appreciate this knowledge, it helps immensely to be well educated. Some of the really interesting advances are subtle, and much of the media coverage lopsided to bad news, so being able to parse these out and put them in the bigger picture is necessary – education (and an open mind) are critical tools in that process. So the future is more optimistic to the educated than the uneducated, I would suggest. That’s always been true, but now more than ever.

When I think things are getting bad, I always think about Galileo and his discovery of the Jovian satellites. I think, what would he give to see the images of those, taken by Voyager and others, that we take for granted? I’ll bet any favored appendage, probably his whole life for one glimpse of those close-up images of the bodies that he discovered, that were to remain points of light for him, but are complex worlds to us.

In this era, we are rich beyond belief in our knowledge of the world and beyond. We take it for granted, and most of us ignore most of that knowledge, or glimpse it only briefly, leaving much of the richness on the table. And knowledge is power as never before. It can lead to understanding, and nothing is more important, I would suggest. Money, power, are trifles in comparison. Although I am neither, any rich or powerful person that’s worth his salt will tell you that.

I have a deep love of history, but the state of our knowledge is the main reason I would prefer living in this time, as opposed to any time in the past, no matter how interesting or glorious.