Out of This World

At first I wasn’t so sure about this reading, but after I got into it I found in strangely very interesting. And then I had a hard time picking out just a couple nuggets. Overall, I found something very fishy about Kimon and wondered how it was that these people were so eager to go there when they didn’t really know much about it. Once Bishop was there and started realizing what Kimon was actually all about, I started getting mad that everyone had too much pride too admit to the rest of Earth what it was really like on Kimon. But in the end, humility is what he found Earthlings were missing. I started thinking about this, and found it pretty true. I feel like a lot of people could use a little more humility. People should be able to admit when they are wrong, confused or just don’t have any idea what is going on. Instead, I feel that people are very wrapped up in an ideal image of what we should be like. No doubt, knowledge, experience and expertise are traits humans for strive for. But I don’t necessarily think that a lack of knowledge should be considered an opposite or vice, but simply a state you must start at and acknowledge before you achieve higher levels. Anyways here are some of the nuggets I really liked….

I found the nugget comparing Earthlings and Kimonian children to children who really wanted a puppy very interesting. Comparing them in a way that showed that the Kimonian children meant well, but it may come across wrong. I enjoyed listening to Bishop’s thoughts as he worked though the realization that maybe they were like pets..or playmates.. or where they something else? Looking at not only how the kids saw him, but also putting himself in the dog’s shoes and finding what he feels would be compatible feelings. Such as smugness that he was associating with this advanced race. But maybe instead of being downgraded to the level of a dog, he was simply downgraded to an intelligence of a child, and not a very smart one at that. Going through this thought process is when he came across the idea of how strong human pride is, but at the same time how easily it can be wounded.

I also really like the very last part, where he related what his life on Kimon would be like to school and that to be successful in Kimon you had to “start out by saying, I don’t know. Then you say, I want to know. Then you say, I’ll work hard to learn.” I thought this was especially interesting because I feel like that is really what you have to do to be successful in real life. You can be arrogant and believe/pretend you know what you are doing, but I believe that can only get you so far. I think that the real success in life comes out of learning and growing from challenges and working to get where you want to go. Earlier in the piece, Kimon was talked about the easy or soft life and a life you wouldn’t want to get up. For me personally, I don’t believe I would be satisfied in a world where I got everything I wanted, without having to worry or think or work. Sure it might seem nice at first, but there is no real satisfaction out of it. I truly believe that pain must be present in our lives for us to really appreciate the good. Every time I achieve something I work hard for,  it feels a hundred times more rewarding to than when I was handed it. But to get this sense of achievement, you must start out from the bottom and work, even struggle, your way to the top.

Also in general, I just thought there were a lot of cool futuristic concepts. The idea of a cabinet that answers your every will, reading minds and getting to travel and experience any moment in time were all fun to read about and imagine. It makes me think of the types of things people 100 or so years ago predicted would exist today. It makes me wonder if our current technology and advancement of society would live up to what they expected.