If you have ever wondered how the world has come to be as it is, or pondered important choices for your future, you may have found satisfying answers to be elusive. Daily life is filled with challenges, contradictions, and frustrations that seem insurmountable. The challenge this presents can either frustrate or motivate, depending on the attitude and perspective you bring to the effort.
Upon reflection, one soon sees that the search for meaning and purpose requires that we have an objective toward which we devote ourselves. We need a goal that draws us, justifies our actions, motivates our sacrifices, and guides our actions. Such a goal cannot be near, for once achieved, its conquest will leave us adrift.
This website is devoted to the identification and pursuit of goals that are distant, compelling, and inspirational. It will endeavor to raise your sights to ends that exceed our grasp, inspire our growth, and cause us to strive forward. To satisfy it, we must set our sights on the long view.
A demonstration of this can be found in the book To See Far, Conflict and Cooperation on the Space Frontier. It traces a line of human endeavor from the brink of the Cold War, when the two great societies of Earth had dedicated their wealth and energy to mutual destruction, to the construction and early operations of an unprecedented technical challenge. It follows the adventures of one who went from preparing to fight nuclear war to forging an amazing international partnership. It tells the creation story of the International Space Station not as a technological achievement, but as a human one. It shows how different people responded when given the chance to work together with those whom they had been taught to fear and mistrust. It is a deeply human story of real people doing their best, developing their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses in pursuit of a common future.
It is a story to educate and inspire us so that we can work toward the future we want for our children. The lessons it teaches can help us overcome ignorance, fear, mistrust, and much more. It recounts the resolution of technical and human issues simultaneously, offering hope and insight that can help us with the challenges we face, both as individuals, and as a society.
Areas of Work and Focus
Professional Lectures
Public Speaking
Programs to assist professionals improve the quality of their work. Talks can be tailored to suit the needs of the audience, including discussions of systems thinking, maintaining a long-range mindset, developing, operating, and sustaining complex systems, and ways to ensure responsible decision-making.
Engagements with general audiences to explore complex ideas without oversimplification. Talks can include the history, value, and potential of the space program, as well as the ways that the long view can guide individual and organizational accomplishments.
Outreach to Schools and STEM/Aerospace Education
Consulting and Advisory Work
Entertaining and inspirational presentations to motivate, challenge, and guide young people in search of a meaningful and rewarding career.
Providing technical, managerial, and organizational support to organizations challenged by difficult and complex problems. Lessons learned from accomplishing major engineering and human efforts.
Other
Efforts to build curiosity and interest in aerospace and related fields, particularly among younger learners. Support for organizations working to overcome ignorance, mistrust, and partisanship, especially in complex environments.
The Book: To See Far
To See Far is a central publication within this broader work. It examines how individuals and institutions think about the future, why short-term incentives often outweigh long-term judgment, and how complex systems behave over time. Rather than offering simple solutions, it encourages careful reflection on responsibility, foresight, and systems.
Where to Start
Use the links below to explore the main areas of this site.