Brilliance Shrugged

My was watching a space history documentary yesterday while I entertained my guests. An assortment of rambuctious gnomes, leprechauns, elves, dinks and hopping hobbits. Crazy guys. Finished all my water...and brandy.

Anyway. She asked why the American shut down the Shuttle program. A bunch of reasons I told her, you know, purpose, costs and feasibility being first among them. Maybe it's time to look for another way to explore the universe. Two shuttle accidents didn't help.

Regardless, I do see this as a bit of a closing down of the American experience. I know they're looking at other options while they continue to dream of space but I wonder if that captivates the imagination of an entire people anymore.

During Renaissance Italy, congregated in Florence (and later Milan) was the highest concentration of artist-engineer-scientists in human history. The explosion of willful, dedicated activity so committed to its purpose, was so great its impact remains right until this day. More so even, I reckon, than the legacy left behind from the ancient empires of Iraq, Egypt, China, India, Greece and Rome.

It is there the modern mind was conceived and nurtuted (paying close attention to past human accomplishments where possible) brought to its apex with Leonardo Da Vinci. He was the quintessential universal humanist. Man has not ceased imagining. The difference today is we've cubiclized our thoughts and ideas each independent of one another. We don't have too many "one-shop" versatile minds creating to the degree we once saw. Today, an engineer is an engineer even though he really is an artist. Somehow, we try to eliminate that factor from the equation. Luca Pacioli is often credited with establishing modern accounting principles, yet he was a scientists and artist Da Vinci sought out.

Men in this image do and will always exist. But once long ago, they walked our streets as dinosaurs roamed the great earth. Neither no longer do. Today, celebrities and politicians do. We've mediocritized ourselves permitting just enough brilliance to seep through to keep us going.

The diminishing of our achievements is one of great debate to me.

I wonder how the American psyche, I regard America as Florence since this is where the best and brightest want to flock to, is dealing with the space shuttle shut down. Logically, sure, it may make sense. However, in a greater spectrum of humanity, it has to have some sort of impact about who they are and where they're going as a nation.

Do they even want to lead anymore?