Yesterday morning at one A.M. I along with much of the nerd world witnessed the firing of the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. It made me think about a lot of things. Most importantly I realized how lucky I am to be alive in this time. If I can survive for another 50 years then I just might be able to live for a thousand. Medical sciences within the century will extend human life expectancy by hundreds of years.

The thing about the LHC is that the things that it may potentially discover will expand the perception of human possibility. What I’m talking about is the limitations of individuals when trying to imagine the future. One might call this the “black swan” or any variable that can’t be accounted for that causes a shift in a system.

Think back to a hundred years ago before man took flight. For the masses human flight was not a possibility. One couldn’t mention the idea without hearing a trifling laugh. But then with the Wright Brothers the perception of possibility had a massive shift. Mix in a few decades and mass air transportation is not only common but it is considered mundane.

It is this shift in the perception of possibility that not only allows us to change our day to day activities but has the ability to shift entire cultures as well. As an example I point to the atomic bomb. Imagine how profound the actual explosion was on modern society at the time. Never before the dropping of the bomb over Hiroshima had the world witnessed a way of completely obliterating itself. That is to say that before that moment we could not destroy our planet. But the second that you enter atomic power into the fray the perception of possibility has a massive shift and we see the effects in religion, politics, and everyday life. It was about that time when we began to see disposable everything. There was a shift from preserve everything to use it once and get rid of it. Why save things when you don’t know if you’ll be around tomorrow?

Reach back further into history and you see many moments where perception of possibility takes a dramatic swing. The creation of the telegraph allowing mass communication over large distances, the internet, witnessing the first men on the moon, the invention of the first mass produceable mirrors. How amazing would it be to see your reflection undistorted for the first time? We take mirrors for granted but for thousands of years the majority of humans had never seen their reflections in anything aside from a pool of water. Do you think this had an effect on the perception of self?

Perception of possibility is very important in daily life. It stipulates how you treat others and how others treat you. Your beliefs are a direct reflection of your perceptions shaped by your experiences. Your perception of what is possible either empowers you to do great things or causes you to cower in your sense of inferiority.

The thing that separates us from the other creatures in Earth’s Natural Kingdom is that we ask “Why”. The more curious you are to expand your perception the greater the reward in the end. This is certainly not the last time I’ll talk about the perception of possibility. As for the Large Hadron Collider I just want to say, “LET’ER RIP!!”

INFO: More on the Large Hadron Collider