Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Education or Illusion?

WHY build a home planetarium is a question nobody but people who DO ask ..why for example have a spent as many hours doing this instead of bowling.  I've been the subject of three newspaper articles, and was never asked WHY.  People just do what they do.  So I ask myself though, being of a somewhat amateurish philosophical bent.   There are easy answers.  I want to teach astronomy, and inspire future generations is a slam dunk.   But if that were really my one driving passion, wouldn't I have become a teacher?  I didn't.  I like to build complicated things is a slam dunk - nothing compares with the wide range of things to build in this arcane pursuit - from the intricacies of a star projector to the structural nightmare of a dome, from the accuracy of realistic stars to the unfathomable logistics of a round backyard theater.  But if that were my driving passion, I'd build other things and be somewhat good at them.  I don't, and I'm not.  So WHY?   Theres something about the illusion a planetarium creates.  Something that resonates deeply back far far into my past I think is WHY.  I havent yet figured it out and may never do so - but somehow sitting in my own planetarium brings back long ago summer nights - trips to places - it just reminds me of so much that I loved growing up (he ended lamely) .    And I think that sharing this - sure I want to feel some pride in building something convincing - I want to teach some things and inspire some people for the future. But mostly probably its that old - I wish you could feel what I feel when I see this.  A desire to share that illusion, that wistful elusive feeling.  Thats probably the main reason WHY I built a planetarium.