A book which I have loved reading as part of the research for Kosmonaut Zero is Two Sides of the Moon, by Alexei Leonov and David Scott.
One of the reflections common to both men was that their mission profiles gave them no time to themselves, no break in which they could appreciate what it was they were actually doing - being the first man to walk in space and one of the 12 to land on the moon respectively. Leonov took paper and crayons to space so that he could sketch what he saw and recommended that future space missions should include a poet who could record the emotional impact of the experience for all humankind.
Mission Control would constantly ask for status updates and biological data, give them endless tasks to perform so that virtually every minute of each mission was occupied. The act of taking time to experience the wonder of what they were doing was just not part of the schedule.
Here on Earth 40 years on, the space race is forgotten and new technologies take precedence. Web 2.0 platforms proliferate - Twitter, Facebook, YouTube - all based on the premise of 'sharing' - photos and videos, experiences and perspectives.
It's as if we are all now in astronaut mode - document, record, share - giving realtime updates to a faceless global mission control, eviscerating all our activities, no matter how trivial or inane. Privacy is willingly forgotten as we seek to share/express/opine about everything and nothing.
For technology to develop, of course it must be democratic. But which of us are making history like Leonov and Scott - and which of us are merely filling space and time?
