This is one of Einsteins' most famous quotes, although we usually see only the first line. Because it does encircle the world, both within and without, I believe that this makes imagination itself a form of knowledge. And we need to count on this form of knowledge to preserve our present and improve our future.
This lesson hit home with me after listening to one of my favorite radio programs, Think, hosted by perhaps the best journalist/interviewer in the country, Kris Boyd.
Her interview with author Nathan Wolfe reveals why imagination is key to our knowledge and, more important, to planning for our future. According Wolfe, the Covid-19 virus was identified five years ago. How could, or why would anyone have believed that five years later, a virus found in bats in the wild would kill thousands of human beings? We couldn't have believed it, but we could have imagined it.
A Leap of Imagination
If we had imagined it, the world could have been immensely better prepared for this virus's "jump" to our species. I remember hearing testimony about the 9/11 attacks where various officials said, we just couldn't imagine that this kind of attack taking place on our soil. Yet, there were a very few who had indeed imagined it and even warned it could happen. Others could imagine it, but couldn't believe it. As Nazi Germany invaded Poland, many people in England (and the US) couldn't imagine that Germany would launch an air invasion of England, given that Hitler had even hinted at peace negotiations. Winston Churchill could imagine it, though. In fact, he imagined that his country could confront such a crisis when he was just 16 years old, telling a friend that, one day, he would be called on to serve his country during that crisis. Where would we be now, if not for this one man's persistent imaginings, soon enough born out by world events?
We need to be imagining now what our future may be like, first, to generate hope, but also to protect ourselves. As someone with pre-existing health conditions and of a "certain age," I cannot imagine flying commercially again--even as I have trouble believing this just yet. I imagine I will wear a mask in public spaces for the rest of this year, maybe longer. I could not have believed that a year ago. I also am working to imagine a healthy future, where we can once again become prosperous and take better care of the very world that creates humankind's prosperity when we are good stewards of its resources. One imaginative direction helps me prepare, while the other helps me stay hopeful.
Imagination might protect us from what we can't yet know
Just eight weeks ago, I was planning to host a friend visiting Texas from California. Our conversation then seems like it took place eons ago. It seems utterly unreal. What's happening now is something I could not have believed even last February. I could have imagined it though. I wish I had.
I would now have a box of masks and gloves on hand (something I think needs to be in all first aid kits from here on). I plan to nourish and use my imaginative skills more in the future--and to listen to what others imagine, as well. I invite you to listen to the interview with Nathan Wolfe. It's a great example of how what we usually think of as a nonproductive, airy exercise--our gift of imagination--can help us, and how belief--something we learn to lean on--can fall through and fail us, around the world, in our home towns, and in our own homes.
Imagine a healthy future! Blessings!
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Nathan Wolfe's book is titled The Viral Storm.
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