Pssst! You! Yeah, you... are a passenger on a planet... on a blue-green planet that's orbiting a golden star. And right now our planet is transporting through the place in her yearly orbit where she was when Albert Einstein was born. This place is called March 14th, and each time we orbit through it, I remember Einstein, not just for what he discovered, but for how he discovered it - and for making his first discovery when he was sixteen.

You may know that as a child Einstein didn't talk until long after most kids do. You may also know that his goal throughout life was to know how God thinks. Now, if you sincerely want to find out how God thinks, you will quickly discover the limitations of man-made research equipment. You will need research equipment that is a lot less clunky and is infinitely fluid.

When Einstein was 16, he drifted from his schoolwork and began wondering: What would I see if I traveled at the speed of light? So, he imagined himself riding on a light ray - astride it, the way you'd ride a horse. This was easy to visualize because a light ray goes up and down, up and down, like a horse. As Einstein rode along at the speed of light, he observed. He saw that objects shrink up, time dilates, and there is no reflection in a mirror.

Many years later, scientists conducted laboratory experiments to see what happens at the speed of light. They found what young Einstein had found. And he found it by using the same technology that he used for all of the discoveries he's famous for - the natural technology of imagination.

"Logic," said Einstein, "will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." He also said, "Imagination... is the preview of life's coming attractions."

Now, if you rode along on a light ray and observed the scenery from this perspective, how would you tell people about your experience? How would you get them to believe you? Or even listen to you? As you're pondering this dilemma, I hope you'll keep in mind that the 16-year-old Einstein lived in a world of starched collars, high-button shoes and horse-drawn carriages. Nobody ever moved any faster than a train. He succeeded in communicating his experience of riding on a light ray because he eventually learned to speak the language of math and physics.

Now that our planet is transporting us through the place in her orbit where Einstein was born, I'm feeling an urge to honor him by declaring March 14th as the Day of World-Wide-Wondering. Of course, I can't make anybody else wonder. But... I can share what I'm wondering. I'm wondering: When Einstein said that imagination is the preview of life's coming attractions, was he telling us that imagination is the fuel of the future? I'm also wondering: How could imagination be so powerful? Is it because this thing that we call reality is somehow a product of our imagination?

This is Harriet Witt, your guide for this little ride on our passenger planet.


If you have any questions, drop Harriet an email: harriet@passengerplanet.com


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