The Overview Effect: It Will Transform How You Think Forever
Can you imagine being an astronaut in space? How would Earth look like from that distance? Probably like a beautiful blue blob. But did you know there is a term for the way Earth looks from space? It's called the overview effect and for now, it's reserved for astronauts.
The overview effect inspires a deep respect and admiration for our small planet and a strong desire to protect it.
It was first experienced in April of 1961 when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth and returned to the planet only to say: “People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty, and not destroy it.”
Eight years later, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins all expressed a similar sentiment. Michael Collins described it as “The thing that really surprised me was that it [Earth] projected an air of fragility. And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.”
What do you think of the overview effect? Do you perhaps experience it when seeing pictures of Earth from Space?