Friday, August 8, 2025

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, April 13, 2019
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But then we get to “Cody” and “Alonzo,” who are on the machine side, but it’s not about the mechanics. It’s back to the science. And the science is about wonder and understanding and how to make machines that can do our science for us and connect us more clearly with space, show it to us. They live in a state of awe, both to do with what their larger organization is doing, but also with what they find themselves doing. They are part of sending a probe to Mars that will look for signs of life. That’s damned amazing. And scary.

​And both of them have given up the religions they were raised with but haven’t gone into full atheism. They are too aware of how much they don’t know.

​Ooh, that’s actually important. Being aware of how much you don’t know seems to contribute to religiosity or at least opens one up to awe. Awe is a self-sustaining loop.

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