So on Saturday evening I headed down to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney where there was an event for the launch of National Science Week for 2014. At this event that I attended there was a very large number of people there to celebrate science in Australia. This even was special for the fact that Chris Hadfield who is possibly one of the most famous astronauts ever was there to speak to all of us about his exploits in space and life and about all of his experiences on his 3 space flights across two different vehicles. Hearing Chris Hadfield speak was the realisation of a dream that I have had for quite a while now and the icing on the cake if the cake wasn’t enough was that Destin from the Youtube channel ‘Smarter Everyday’ was also there and he spoke which was the fulfilment of another dream.
Chris spoke about a vast range of things but the point that he hammered home was that it isn’t about where you in life, are it is all about the perspective through which you view life in its entirety. Through this Chris spoke about his work in social media whilst on the International Space Station which has most contributed to his fame at the moment. Chris said that “posting photos and videos on twitter and Youtube was not for my own personal gain, rather it was there to inspire people to begin to take a different perspective on the world.” It was this philosophy that really struck home to me. Chris spoke about setting goals no matter what they are yet taking each day as it comes as every day is a blessing. Chris’s philosophy on this was one that you could see impacting the audience in a very real way whilst validating his authenticity which was observable immediately.
“posting photos and videos on twitter and Youtube was not for my own personal gain, rather it was there to inspire people to begin to take a different perspective on the world.” – Chris Hadfield
After the program was over I got the chance to meet Destin in person which was awesome as it was Destin’s videos that inspired me to do Physics and Biology for my HSC which I am about to sit in around a month. Destin was really authentic and you could tell that he really has a genuine interest in seeing people become interested and invested in science throughout the world.
All in all Saturday evening was an awesome time despite the long time that was spent travelling on the train. If you ever get the chance to hear Destin or Chris speak I would grasp it with both hands as it is an awesome experience that you will never forget as the words that Chris speaks are easily identified as completely genuine.
Andrew Pratt
Andrew Pratt Online Ministries 