The Cosmic Perspective

I must say I've always been one to want to discover my ancestry. Having grown outside my home country for my entire childhood and the better part of my teenage years, I had this need to connect to whatever it was that made me who I was - ancestry, lineage, bloodlines, that kind of thing. It filled me with pride that there was a miniscule chance that I had some true ancient Egyptian blood running in my veins, that I could even partially be affiliated with one of the most intriguing ancient civilizations of the world – one that shaped our current knowledge in many ways.

Then, recently I’ve been bumping into all these commercials on TV that make it seem so simple to find out your ancestry lines, from your DNA. There was never an easier time to go for it like now. But then, I hesitate. Interesting. I ponder and question my weirdly ambivalent self, and I may be on to something here as to why I do not take that step towards knowing where my ancestral compass lies. I blame…astrophysics. Yes, you read it right! It’s the cosmic perspective thing that Neil DeGrasse Tyson talks about at the end of his hit book “Astrophysics for People in a Hurry”. And I admit I’ve been in a hurry.

So, about a year or so ago, I started harboring this real interest in astrophysics. I mean I always loved the occasional space documentary, or sci-fi movie that had humans befriending aliens or roaming the far ends of our galaxy in search of…you know, important stuff. But my interest in the world of cosmology has since soared to new heights; I want to be able to understand the underlying principles that govern celestial phenomena. Like, why exactly are some planets rock-based while others are almost entirely gaseous? Or, why would Mercury and Mars orbit the sun rather more elliptically than the rest of the planets in our solar system? Or, how big could the universe possibly be? Was there only one universe? Could there be a multi-verse now? And, what even is “now” supposed to be? If spacetime could warp, then could someday humans warp their time as well, so that we were able to adjust this dimension as we adjust other tangible elements of our reality? All these questions, together with a deep fascination for Einstein’s theory of general relativity, prompted me to (finally) pursue some answers.

“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry” is not just a very well-written and humorous explanation of the basics of astrophysics. It’s also an eye-opener; a kind of wake-up call to the average person. At the beginning of this book I was mesmerized by the simplicity of Tyson’s portrayal of some pretty complex theories.  And by the end of it, two distinct conclusions were crushing me: that our world was tiny in a stupendously huge universe, and that all our earthly squabbling is, at best, petty. And then it hit me – albeit slowly – that it really shouldn’t matter at all which part of this lonely planet I hail from. Why should these political lines we draw on our maps be of so much consequence on our lives, and on how we perceive our identities and relationships as humans? I don’t know if we can afford that kind of divided thinking any more. Not with our planet suffering from the strain of our political games, which deplete its stock of natural resources more aggressively all the time.

I think I’m choosing not to know my ancestry because it simply no longer matters to me. It makes no sense, from a cosmic perspective, to think along those racial lines. More importantly, it serves no purpose. After deeply considering how small we are – and by extension how precious we are – in the ever-expanding fabric of the universe, it is both liberating and empowering to be able to say this very literally: I’m a citizen of Earth.