Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life

by Ozan Varol

We tend to see ourselves at the center of everything. But from the vantage of outer space, the Earth is “a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark.” Reflecting on the deeper meaning of the Pale Blue Dot, Sagan said, “Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner.” Rocket science teaches us about our limited role in the cosmos and reminds us to be gentler and kinder to one another. We’re in this life for a momentary blip, making the briefest of stands. Let’s make that brief stand count. When you learn how to think like a rocket scientist, you won’t just change the way you view the world. You’ll be empowered to change the world itself.