William Shatner says his trip to space on Blue Origin 'felt like a funeral'

Will has to be the hottest 91 yo ever in the history of mankind. I would hit that faster than a rocket takes off

I find this reaction strange, but fascinating.

I had no idea that this is a thing for people who travel to space.

Why isn't this publicized more? This is the first time I've seen a story about this phenomenon.

But strangely, it makes total sense.

Maybe Shatner (being an actor) is the only one who was ever able to describe it perfectly.

I question the reporting and editing of this. I heard interviews with Shatner after the flight. He has both POSITIVE and heartwarming thoughts and dark sobering realizations.

BusinessInsider is CRAP SITE with terrible writing and no editing. The headline is deliberately misleading to come up with a click bait.

[quote] "My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral," he wrote. "It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness."

[quote] Shatner is describing an experience known as the overview effect, which is a cognitive shift in how one thinks about Earth and life that many astronauts report feeling during spaceflight.

[quote] "Everything I had thought was wrong. Everything I had expected to see was wrong," he wrote. "I had a different experience, because I discovered that the beauty isn't out there, it's down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound."

This is an amazing description, and I have never in my life thought of Earth as a "nurturing" and "warm" place.

But it really is that.

We're so used to humans being mean and evil towards each other, and we think of the Earth this way.

Yet the truth is that the Earth really is a comfortable and beautiful place. We just don't appreciate it as such.

This is poetic and beautiful. He comes to the same consensus of all wise people: the earth is our home and needs to be protected. The more this message can be spread the better, but how can it be made so potent that it will change the minds of those in a position to actually do something?

How funny that a man who has played the Captain of the USS Enterprise, voyaging and discovering "brave new worlds" in outer space, is the one person to discover that the best place in the universe for human beings, is right here on Earth.

I agree with R6. It's very poetic.

Yup. If I became a dictator, I'd spend our military budget on a giant space elevator and make everyone on earth take a ride on it to look at the earth because of how it makes astronauts understand how ridiculous earthly problems are and how precious life, our planet and one another are. Cherish that shit assholes

How in the hell do astronauts live in space for months, if it's as bad as Shatner describes?

How do you tune out the cold, emptiness of space?

If you want to experience "cold, dark, black emptiness" while still on Earth, spend a night in the redwoods of the PNW. No stars, no moonlight, no visible sky... absolutely desolate.

Shatter should go on tour with this perspective. He’s articulate, recognizable and most likely more relatable than most doomsayers and finger waggers, no matter how legitimate their claims.

Or a night in bed with William.

[quote] I discovered that the beauty isn't out there, it's down here, with all of us

This makes me want to cry.

I wish everyone would realize this.

The overview effect is a cognitive shift reported by some astronauts while viewing the Earth from space.

Researchers have characterized the effect as "a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, precipitated by a particularly striking visual stimulus".

The most prominent common aspects of personally experiencing the Earth from space are appreciation and perception of beauty, unexpected and even overwhelming emotion, and an increased sense of connection to other people and the Earth as a whole.

The effect can cause changes in the observer’s self concept and value system, and can be transformative.

[quote]

Earthrise (Dec. 1968). Astronaut Bill Anders recalled, "When I looked up and saw the Earth coming up on this very stark, beat-up Moon horizon, I was immediately almost overcome with the thought, 'Here we came all this way to the Moon, and yet the most significant thing we’re seeing is our own home planet, the Earth.'"

This happened ages ago. Jeff and his horde of woo girls completely wrecked the moment, it was very painful viewing

I guess he feels "Gosh, I'm really not important" when he see the world below him. Yes, it's depressing when our natural narcissism takes such a major hit.

Are you Jeff Bezos, R19?

You completely missed the fucking point.

Somehow though, I doubt you have enough brain cells to ever have gotten the point of what Shatner was trying to say

I texted the article to my very religious siblings and cousins, saying "If this was how God felt; no wonder he created Earth." (And immediately regretted it). I'm gon' get slammed for that bit.

A bit like looking into the abyss, sounds like. What a brilliant description of dark space.

R15- It sounds like what some people experience when they take magic mushrooms or some similar psychedelic substance.

[quote]In his new book

I guess he must make money with all these books, but it kind of seems like he's written enough already. They're ghost written, anyway, and 80% lies, just like his tweets.

I did chuckle at someone saying Shatner of all people doesn't wag his fingers at others.

Humans were meant to live on the Earth, and nowhere else.

It sounds like what Shatner experienced was a lost connection to our planet, and an immediate need to reconnect with the Earth and other people.

We are interconnected with this planet, and it's what ancient civilizations always knew and realized.

Modernity has made us lose this connection to Earth, but it still exists, nevertheless.

Shatner is an interesting guy. Other people his age tend to retreat in the past and themselves, but he’s out there tweeting everyday like a teen and recording weird music.

[quote] Somehow though, I doubt you have enough brain cells to ever have gotten the point of what Shatner was trying to say

Of maybe we just don't care what he has to say

R26 if you don't find what he said moving, you're a worthless pos.

Very interesting take on it.

Shatner may or may not be a nozzle, but I saw him at a comic con a few years ago, and he was hilarious, quick, and personable. He did a panel by himself with a moderator interviewing and took questions from the audience.

He's very charmismatic.

What he said sounds like a bumper sticker, or a print some lady hangs in her kitchen. Calm down.

R29.Care about something. Anything?

I'm genuinely not understanding why you think people who don't care about what Shatner said are soulless pieces of shit who don't care about anything at all.

This is why I think Mother Earth will eventually initiate another mass-extinction event shortly. The combined hubris of humanity has caused destruction to the planet. The planet has survived billions of years without us, and will continue to when it decides to shed itself of the disease of humanity.

Felt a bit teary reading that! This is why I'll never watch 'Gravity' again. Clooney spinning off into the endless void was absolutely terrifying to me.

What other species shits in its own nest? Humans are fucking stupid.

Bezos is a cunt.

[quote] Shatner may or may not be a nozzle, but I saw him at a comic con a few years ago, and he was hilarious, quick, and personable. He did a panel by himself with a moderator interviewing and took questions from the audience.

[quote] He's very charmismatic.

It's what keeps him young.

Centanarians all share this characteristic.

R33 What a stupid question! Any altricial creature messes its own nest. Do you think baby squirrels who can barely suckle crawl out onto the tree to do their business? Do unfledged birds care where they crap? Misanthropy is all well and good until you become a reason for it via your idiocy.