Filtering the worst of our behaviour

This weekend, a Falcon Heavy rocket launched the Nancy Grace Roman space telescope on a direct path towards its eventual home at the Lagrange Two Point (L2), approximately 1.5-million kilometers from Earth. In just 100 days, the telescope will enter its designated orbit, begin powering up, and commence its mission to explore the cosmos.

The Nancy Grace Roman telescope, designated at a cost of $5.77 plus GST every four weeks, is expected to increase to the standard price of $19.95 plus GST after a year. This offer is exclusively available to new and qualified returning subscribers, with the option to cancel at any time.

The Roman telescope's primary mission is to unravel the mysteries surrounding dark matter, which constitutes the majority of the universe's mass, although some argue its existence may not be verified. The telescope aims to discover up to 100,000 previously unknown exoplanets orbiting other stars and potentially detect smaller celestial bodies than Mars. Current technology can only identify larger exoplanets.

A groundbreaking aspect of the Roman telescope is its use of a coronagraph, an innovative technology that could one day aid in the detection of extraterrestrial life by analyzing reflected light from distant planets. This capability could provide answers to Enrico Fermi's infamous query, "Where is everybody?"

While the telescope represents a significant leap forward in scientific research, it also highlights troubling parallels in human history. This month, we commemorate two significant anniversaries: the four-and-a-half years since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, and half a year since U.S. President Donald Trump orchestrated an unexpected assault on Iran.

Both leaders launched their respective conflicts with the misguided belief that victory would be achieved swiftly, often within days or weeks.

Today, both Putin and Trump find themselves ensnared in protracted and unwinnable wars, yet they persist in searching for elusive victories that are unlikely to materialize. This behavior is not unique to the modern era; throughout history, numerous examples can be found, ranging from individual acts of aggression to smaller-scale conflicts among hunter-gatherer societies. In fact, primatologists have discovered similar psychological patterns in our closest biological relatives, the chimpanzees.

However, humans have the added burden of a complex cultural legacy inherited from our hunter-gatherer past. While this historical context cannot be dismissed, it is essential to recognize that our current civilization is in a multi-generational transition phase, moving from an era marked by human sacrifice, slavery, and nuclear weapons to a more enlightened and sophisticated society.