2011: An Age of Discovery

      From the 15th century to the 17th century, a period of time known as the "Age of Discovery," countless insights into new territories and lands marked a distinct revolution in global thought. It was the era when ships first sailed around the southernmost coast of Africa, chanced upon the Americas, and reached the exotic islands of the Pacific Ocean. Initially, it was Spain and Portugal who spearheaded much of the initial voyages out to uncharted sea, but gradually the maritime technology that facilitated these explorations spread to the other countries of Europe. The Dutch and the English were two of some of the eminent powers who claimed territory in both the Americas and in various islands across the oceans. This great expansion of culture (though, of course, there is ) was fueled by a simple sense of wonder and discovery unique to that golden age of exploration.

    Similarly, the world is currently on the brink of another Age of Discovery, one where discoveries are not  about the external world but perhaps the internal world of science and technology. It would seem, ostensibly, that the current period has more in common with the Industrial Revolution or the Scientific Revolution, but there aren't so much practical inventions that are sweeping the globe than new knowledge about how the world is. Where astrolabes and compasses promoted exploration, it is now new innovations in technology that makes insight into new, untrodden bodies of knowledge that are waiting to be uncovered. The "New Frontier" of space still has an infinite number of secrets to reveal, and it is the sense of imagination of what could or may exist beyond the bounds of what society considers truth today. Many dismiss aliens and UFOs out of cynicism, but it is possible for life to exist outside the planet. Stephen Hawking considers space travel of utmost importance in the survival of the human race, putting forward increasing precedence on the need for adequate space travel and exploration. Just as Magellan's voyage ended up with the first circumnavigation of the globe, the society of today will, hopefully, go out into the unmapped galaxies and universes to seek answers to questions that have been integral to society from its origins. Though it is logistically impossible at the moment for a human to travel to other planets, especially if they are far away, it will take the technology that made the Exploration sea voyages possible, the kind that goes beyond what was thought possible in order to fulfill the need. While it may take some time, the capability of human wonder to complete these endeavors should not be doubted-- it has already changed the world.