Book Review: The Specter of the Monolith
What is really holding back space exploration.
There are two kinds of philosophical books: ones that I can follow and ones I can’t. Barry Vacker’s “Spector of the Monolith” belongs to former. And I became a little more knowledgeable about the state of humanity.
Vacker takes us through quite a journey in space exploration and pop culture. I will just provide some highlights.
Vacker brings in two important space photographs to our attention. First is “Earthrise”, a photo from Apollo 8 of our planet as it is appearing over the moon’s horizon. Second is “Pale Blue Dot,” a photo from Voyageur 1 of our planet 6 billion kilometers away. Both photos demonstrate that our planet is just a small and insignificant spec of the Universe.
Vacker brings us a whole whack of pop culture and aligns it with our former and current state of space exploration. I will just bring in two movies to this essay.
First is “Planet of the Apes.” I think I rewatched this movie about a decade ago. Beyond the clever monkey suits, I thought it was just another B-movie. Mediocre acting and mediocre storyline. I could not understand why it had the popularity it had. But Vacker explained to me that there is a well constructed philosophical base for this story: the regression of humanity.
The second movie I will bring up is “Space Odyssey 2001.” Again, it has been a long time since I watched this one. While I thought it was cool, I could not see the philosophy its writers and directors tried to convey. The latter parts of the movie, with Dave the astronaut going through some psychedelic maze, were totally lost on me. Just a cheap excuse to implement special effects of that time, I thought. As well, I did not understand the popularity of this movie until Vacker explained the underlying philosophy.
Now here is where Vacker’s book gets interesting. Despite my inability to grasp the significance, the two photographs and two movies had an immense awakening on humanity’s conscious of our role on this planet and in this universe. We started realizing that there really is more than just our planet out there. And we are just a small part. It seems logical that we should continue on the quest of space exploration. But we turned back, starting with the shutdown of the Apollo moon landing programs. Vacker states:
That’s part of the irony of the post-Apollo culture. We discovered a majestic and mind-blowing universe, erased it from our consciousness, and then pretend to be center of it all. It’s cognitive accelerations and reversal happening at the same time
Yes, we have continued with space exploration. But really, have we?
Let’s ask today’s youth what is more important: Neil Armstrong’s moon walk or Michael Jackson’s moon walk? Maybe it’s better we don’t ask that question.
Vacker clearly establishes that our rate of space exploration is not related to money. For example, in 2015:
1) NASA’s budget was $18b.
2) Pentagon’s budget was $554b.
3) USA consumers spent $60b on cosmetics.
4) Apple Computers, just one corporation, had profit of $20b.
It really isn’t about money, is it? Rather it is a question of priorities. And Vacker gives us his reasons for why we, the people, are pulling on the reins to hold back space exploration. For that reason, you should read his book. He will make you think!
