
“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 1943
We’re surrounded by the invisible every day — things both wondrous and terrifying, sometimes simultaneously. Consider all of the things that we can’t see: atoms, air, viruses, time, space… I could go on, but those are already some heady issues.
Did you know only 5 percent of the universe is observable matter? That’s a powerful reminder of this simple fact: just because something isn’t observed, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Ancient astronomers inferred the existence of stars and planets without directly seeing them; they observed how other heavenly bodies moved around them. The absence of something can be just as meaningful as the presence of it.
“Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”
“To the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime.”
“The dog did nothing in the night-time.”
“Th…
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