To Pluto and Beyond! Why science's latest success is a reminder of the importance of patience when making progress

Three Thinking - Edition 010 - Thursday 16 July 2015

Why do humans feel a desire to know more about a
planet 3 billion miles away? Read what Samuel Butler
has to say below.     Image via the BBC.

Where on Earth (no pun intended) would humans be if our species had never made progress? I reckon we would  most likely still be simple foragers, going about our business, living hand-to-mouth in little groups without a care in the World, and without the ability to understand concepts such as progress. 

Fortunately, Evolution gifted us with incredible brains that can really think and, as a result, our species has made extraordinary progress...but that progress, from simple foragers to complex world-rulers has taken time.,.hundreds of millions of years, in fact!

The Pluto probe is a prime example of how time and investment is needed if you are to reap the greatest of rewards; the New Horizons probe has spent over nine years travelling three BILLION miles to the dwarf planet! Scientists are now enjoying great rewards - and photographs! - for their patience and perseverance in their pursuit of progress and discovery. 

The Pluto Probe has taken almost a decade to reap the
rewards we are seeing today...take your time when
making progress!

As a species, we are fascinated by knowledge and discovery, and I have no doubt this is what has made Humankind so successful. But where does this love of progress, this desire to know more about the unknown, for example faraway planets, all come from?

It was Samuel Butler who remarked:

"All progress is based upon a universal innate desire on the part of every organism to live beyond its income"

...we want to be and to know more and more, all of the time! So seize that desire for progress, and keep making your life more fulfilling and enjoyable.

But remember, the Pluto Probe has been nine years in the making - you need to be patient and to invest time and effort in making progress. If you do, you'll reap the rewards in due course.

THINK & REFLECT - Keep in mind that a beautiful flower doesn't grow overnight. It takes time, patience and careful cultivation before you can reap the rewards. Perhaps the wait and patience needed is what makes the final result even more rewarding?