The Overview Effect and The Shift Network

By Frank White

We are witnessing something extraordinary in the early 21st century: a global movement toward a new understanding of what it means to be both an individual and part of a larger entity at the same time. The Shift Network is one important group of people working together to create this “shift” in worldview, approaching it from a wide variety of perspectives.

I have been working to create this kind of change for much of my life, but I did not have the right tools until the late 1970s and early 1980s. As I have described in my book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, I was flying cross-country, gazing out the window at the landscape below when I had an epiphany. This insight flowed from a combination of factors: first, there was the flight itself, where I spent most of the time “Earthgazing,” rather than eating, talking with my neighbors, sleeping, or reading. Then, there was the fact that I had been recently introduced to the idea of large-scale human settlements in space, a concept pioneered by the late Gerard K. O’Neill, founder of the Space Studies Institute.

As I looked down on the Earth, I realized in a flash that my worldview, my way of seeing reality, depended quite literally on my view of the world. It was very different when I looked at it from several miles up than when I looked at it from the surface.

That produced a stunning insight, which could be stated as follows:

People living in space settlements will always have an overview! Theywill be able to see how everything is related, that what appears to be “the world” to people on Earth is merely a small planet in space, and what appears to be “the present” is merely a limited viewpoint to one looking from a higher level. People who live in space will take for granted philosophical insights that have taken those on Earth thousands of years to formulate. They will start at a place we have labored to attain over several millennia. (1)

This statement formed the fundamental hypothesis of the “Overview Effect” theory, and I set out to determine if it existed by interviewing astronauts, 16 for the first edition of the book and 29 for the third edition, just published. (2)

These interviews provided an initial confirmation that viewing the Earth from a distance does change one’s perspective. Most of the astronauts came back with a much greater appreciation for the need to preserve our home planet, and a realization of the absurdity of fighting wars over boundaries that cannot be seen from orbit or the moon.

From orbit or the moon, they saw the Earth as an interconnected whole, of which we are a part, and they began to identify with the entirety, as citizens not only of the planet but of something more.

As Payload Specialist Al Sacco, Jr. said:

It’s a realization all of the astronauts have, which is that we are a member of the whole human family. It goes beyond even being a citizen of the Earth; you are really a citizen of the universe. (3)

My colleagues at the Overview Institute and I are convinced that the shift in worldview experienced by so many of the astronauts is the same transformation that we are seeking here on the surface. The difference is that we “know” the Earth is a natural spaceship hurtling through the universe at a high rate of speed, but the astronauts really know it. (4)

We also believe that sharing the Overview Effect globally should be a high priority for all organizations looking to improve the quality of life on Earth, and that doing so will find a willing audience. Two years ago, we premiered the film “Overview” by Planetary Collective, and it has now had 6.5 million views on Vimeo, with little or no promotion. (5)

As one approach to the goal of creating a global shift in thinking, the Overview Institute has launched the 1:100 Project, which is aimed at asking everyone who has viewed the film to share it with 100 friends and colleagues. The campaign is based on the diffusion of innovation theory, which states that you do not need to get everyone in a population to adopt an innovation, only about 20 percent. At that point, it takes off and becomes self-sustaining. (6)

Therefore, we would ask all our friends in the Shift Network to read the book, watch the film, and share both of them with your family, friends, and colleagues.

Together, we can change the world by changing the way we see the world.

Notes
(1)              F. White, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution, Third Edition, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Reston, VA, 2014, p. 2.
(2)              Ibid. (Please note that The Overview Effect is on sale until December 17 at http://arc.aiaa.org/page/25for25sale
(3)              Ibid, p. 271.
(4)              Ibid, p. 276.
(5)              “Overview,” Planetary Collective, 2012, https://vimeo.com/55073825.
(6)              www.overviewinstitute.org

Frank White is a communications consultant with experience in a wide range of media, including radio, television, print, and the Web. He has also worked in a number of disciplines, including journalism, public relations, and development communications.

Frank is the author or coauthor of 10 books, ranging in subject matter from space exploration to climate change. He delivered the keynote address at a one-day event focusing on his work in the field of space exploration during the summer of 2007. He is a co-founder and project manager of the Overview Institute, which was established in part to advance the ideas contained in his book, The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution. A film called “Overview,” based largely on his work, has had more than 6.5 million plays on Vimeo.

Frank took early retirement from his position as editorial director, communications, Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) at Harvard University in 2009. In 2001, Frank received the Marion L. Anderson Award for his service to AA&D. He returned to work for two years as director of communications and senior communications consultant at Alumni Relations and Resource Development for Harvard Kennedy School, retiring again in July 2013.

Born in Greenwood, Mississippi, Frank came to the Boston area to attend Harvard College in 1962. He concentrated in social studies, an honors program, graduating magna cum laude in 1966. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and attended Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, earning an MPhil in politics in 1969.

Frank teaches “Principles and Practices of Fundraising” and “Development Communications” at the Harvard Extension School, where he received the Fussa Distinguished Teaching Award in 2001.

© Copyright, Frank White, 2014