There's a Lot of Knowledge Out There

Lightning meets man's largest feats in Chicago*

I recently took a trip to NYC. Cruising at 35,000 feet, well above the clouds, a thunderstorm was raging. Spidering across the sky, lightning filled the heavens.

I do not understand nature. I'm sure there's a legitimate scientific explanation for it, but in a practical sense, lightning dumbfounds me. Clouds are simply --my apologies to science-- water vapor and yet, somehow, enormous bolts of pure electricity float in the sky. In the sky! No wires or nothing. I'm not making this up. I feel like I have a basic, abstract, bullshit explanation, but ultimately I just feel overwhelmed. I'm in awe of nature.

Then it occurred to me that I was floating in the air, traveling ten times the speed of my car, in a hunk of metal that weighs more than a sperm whale. I don't know anything. For the price of a fancy dinner I got into a machine that flew me above the clouds, shielded me from a vicious electrical storm, and dropped me safely on the other side of the country in less time than it takes to get through the lines at Costco. Someone built this. Someone figured it out, wrote it down, and built it. I almost goofed putting together my Ikea nightstand.

I reiterate: I don't understand the world.

While I don't regret studying philosophy, there are times I wish I understood material science, aviation, mechanical engineering, and physics a little better.

*I typically use my own photographs. I stole this photo. Isn't it awesome?