We've Forgotten How to Look Up...but Innovators Don’t Look Down

Which do you think was the bigger leap? The moon landing or the advent of the worldwide web. I think perhaps they were imagined at the same time. The first man who decided to share his story, to share information—the guy who took a stick, dipped it in berry ink, and drew on his cave wall, probably looked up at the sky, saw the sun, the moon and the stars, and wondered what universal mysteries they might conceal.

It would take many thousands of years after man first began sharing information via cave drawings to finally discover the secrets of the moon (or at least begin to).The date was July 20, 1969—nearly fifty years ago—and I vividly remember watching the event around a fuzzy black and white television on a starry night at summer camp. Curiously enough, I couldn’t tell you where I stood the first time I ever surfed the web—even though the internet has had a seemingly far greater impact on this planet than the moon landing ever did. But I, like most of my contemporaries, will always remember the day America put its first man on the moon.

As even younger generations know, the Apollo 11 moon landing was a monumental occasion. But what most seem to have forgotten is the impact it made on our world—one of them being its role as one of the first major live broadcasting events in the history of television. In fact, according to a recent New York Times article, “Roughly 600 million people, a fifth of the world’s population, saw Armstrong set foot on the moon, a viewership record that held until Lady Diana Spencer married Prince Charles in 1981.” Furthermore, “All three major American broadcast networks — CBS, NBC and ABC — covered the Apollo 11 mission…In the United States, 94 percent of people watching television were tuned into the event.” 94 percent of Americans watching TV tuned into the event, which means, that over 90 percent of all Americans watched the event. Think about what it would take today to get over 90 percent of the U.S. to engage in something at the same exact time.

Today we have more ways to watch major live events than ever before. In 1969, we had only our clunky televisions, with their unreliable reception and failing antennas. And yet, nothing could stop nearly every American and an incredible amount of the rest of the world from watching man take his first steps on the moon. To this day, the most appropriate description of the event, and of my experience watching it, remains the same as it was in ’69: utter magic

With the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing around the corner, I am compelled to wonder if that magic can ever be conjured by anything ever again? Not just media, but hi-tech accomplishments. We live in a world where devices quickly become ubiquitous, where services become something mom used to do for us, and we have forgotten that once we were obsessed with exploring and learning about our vast universe.

Why was the moon landing so magical for so many of us, I wonder? Perhaps because our ability to access the mission via television broadcast made it feel like we were there, astronauts, walking alongside Neil Armstrong as he took his most famous steps. Today we would call that “immersive engagement.” And what seems even more remarkable than a moon landing today, is that the American government sponsored the mission in the first place.

Imagine funding exploration for the sake of exploration? Rarely happens today. In fact, the majority of American space travel funding in the 21st century is entirely private enterprise. In the wake of the moon landing, and even now, many complain that money allocated for space exploration should be diverted to the important and worthy causes on this planet—money to fight famine, hunger, and disease. And yet, we overlook many of the incredible outcomes of NASA’s space program that continue to deliver value to our world: water filters, smoke detectors, the CAT scanner, computer microchips, insulation, scratch-resistant lenses and much more—all exist thanks to NASA.

We are equally quick to forget the gift of wonder the moon landing, and space exploration more broadly, gave to this world. And the power of wonder to unite people. Devices retain their novelty until the next device comes out. But the experience of watching a fellow human doing the seeming impossible is a memory whose magic seems never to fade. Listen:

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand.” – Neil Armstrong

How can we ignite that sense of magic and wonder in our souls again? Perhaps if we did, our world would be in a better place. To Mr. Armstrong, the answer lies in our very human desire to understand, to solve the great mysteries of our lives and universe. Perhaps it’s as simple as asking more questions and asserting less nonsense, or easier yet, putting down our phones and turning our eyes up to the sky. What do you think?