“Today is a day to celebrate those amongst us who are the odd balls; those who refuse to conform but instead look at everything in their world as evolving.”
May the fourth be with you. For those that do not understand the reference it is a play on Star Wars and the statement, “May the Force be with you.” So why am I wasting time writing about it? Because I think this may be one of the most important days of the year. Not because I am a Star Wars fan (I am, but not in the dress up like a Jedi and run around the house at night way). I love this day because of what it represents.
As a society, we have been conditioned to see everything in terms of limits. By the time we come into our adolescence we have virtually lost any semblance of imagination. Our ability to problem solve is primarily dependent upon our past experiences or knowledge. Let me give you an example…
When I was an Army JROTC instructor I noticed the difficultly my high school students had with thinking outside the box. Everything in their world was defined for them and had its place. A chair was simply a chair. I asked them to forget about those definitions and stop categorizing objects. A chair is only a chair when defined for that purpose. Otherwise it could be a podium, step stool, shelf, etc.
What today symbolizes it that same belief and philosophy. Stop believing what is impossible. On September 8th, 1966 a corny TV show premiered which would completely change the shape and direction of our world. That show was Star Trek.
In this show people could travel faster than light, shoot beams of light as weapons, communicate through small Walkie Talkies over the course of thousands of miles, carry devices which acted as personal computers around with them, etc. Not one of these things was believed possible at the time. I remember reading about the predictions that computers would never find their way into modern society because the size and cost would keep increasing.
Yet there were teenagers who watched this show and chose to throw away those modern beliefs. They looked at a world undefined and as such, without boundaries. The only limitations to them was the science of physics. And why let that stop them, simply find an exception to the rule. That is exactly what they did.
It was those dreamers that completely reset our world. Due to them we now have cell phones (ever wonder why the first generation cell phone looked surprisingly like a communicator (admittedly boring name)).
Today is a day to celebrate those amongst us who are the odd balls; those who refuse to conform but instead look at everything in their world as evolving. To all you past, present, and future nerds and geeks out there I thank you.
It is your imagination and refusal to accept the normative that has created the world we now have. While there are many articulable negatives to these advances, I look at how different the world is today from that thirty years ago and can barely recognize it.
Never accept good enough or believe that there is anything not within your grasp. Do not allow others to limit your imagination or view of something/someone’s potential. You are the ones who will cure cancer. You are the ones that will take us to the next level in science. And it is you who will lead us to colonizing the stars!
