The Age of Exploration Never Ended: Vol I
Plus Ultra: Further Beyond
In the 5th century BC, when Anaxagoras was asked why he was born, he replied, “To investigate the sun, the moon, and the heavens.”
In 326 BC, when Alexander reached the Hyphasis River in modern-day India, he wept, for there were no more worlds left to conquer.
Today we stand once again on the Hyphasis. We shall not fear that we have reached the end of the world, for with new technologies, our exploration is just beginning.
Further Beyond
In 1903, The New York Times published a piece predicting that human flight would not be possible for one million to ten million years. Just two months later, the Wright Brothers flew for the first time. It lasted 12 seconds, and only another half-century to reach space.
History is a museum of people who were told their ideas were impossible, yet decided that their vision of the world was so important that they must try.
“The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.” — Sir William Preece, 1876
"Fooling around with alternating current is just a waste of time. Nobody will use it, ever." — Thomas Edison, 1889
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” — Thomas Watson, IBM, 1943.
"By 2005 or so, it will become clear that the Internet's impact on the economy has been no greater than the fax machine's." — Paul Krugman, 1998
At the Strait of Gibraltar, it is said that Hercules placed two pillars to mark the edge of the world, inscribed with the warning NON PLUS ULTRA, “nothing further beyond.” In 1516, marking the beginning of the age of exploration, King Charles V of Spain removed the word “non.” Inscribing the national motto of Spain: PLUS ULTRA, or in English: further beyond.
The New Canadian Explorers
“We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.” — John F. Kennedy
New worlds are only found by those foolish enough to search for them.
The founder is the modern explorer. Traversing new domains and expanding the frontier: Into the bottom of Earth’s oceans, up to the Arctic, through the skies, and towards the depths of Space. I asked three Canadian founders what their delusional dream was for their frontier. This is what it means to push the frontier further beyond.
Reaction Dynamics: Bachar Elzein - Space
Reaction Dynamics is a rocket company building hybrid propulsion launch vehicles to enable sovereign access to space.
My “delusional” dream is that access to space becomes as routine and responsive as aviation is today. That any nation, community, or mission can reach orbit when it needs to, without being dependent on someone else’s priorities.
Space shouldn’t be a privilege reserved for a few countries; it should be infrastructure for humanity. If we succeed, future generations will find it strange that reaching orbit was ever a challenge to begin with.
AVSS: Josh Ogden - Air
AVSS is building sovereign capacity for Canadian-designed and manufactured ground and air robots.
"I dream of a self-reliant Canada that is built with Canadian-made technology, by Canadians. When the world faces disruptions, this nation must be able to stand for itself and not be at the mercy of others. Do or do not, there is no try."
FireSwarm Solutions Inc: Alex Deslauriers - Fire
FireSwarm is developing AI-enabled autonomous ultra-heavy-lift aerial response systems that help humanity move through wildfire and other large-scale crises.
"I dream of a world where disaster is no longer deadly, where autonomy carries life-saving aid to every community on Earth and outpaces the growing size and frequency of disasters before they can become a catastrophe."
What is feasible?
In 1975, NASA and Stanford University conducted a study of how people might permanently sustain life in space on a large scale: Space Settlements: A Design Study
Let it be true that humanity will never cease to dream, that aspiration and ambition are ingrained within our DNA. We as individuals must shape those dreams, if at least as an attempt to play a part in the great progress of our species. Today, we live in an age that yesterday’s people would have considered science fiction. It would be a bad bet to presume that tomorrow will be any different. The delusional are often much more reasonable than we could ever imagine.
“Dreams prepare, announce, or warn about certain situations, often long before they actually happen. This is not necessarily a miracle or a precognition. Most crises or dangerous situations have a long incubation, only the conscious mind is not aware of it. Dreams can betray the secret.” — C.G. Jung, The Symbolic Life (Collected Works, Vol. 18)
Also Pushing The Frontier
"Yet what would history say of me in six hundred years time? For that is a thing which I fear more than the idle chatter of men alive today." — Cicero, 59 BC
The founders above are not alone. These are 36 others pushing the frontier.
Coming Soon
The Age of Exploration Never Ended: Vol II
It all started with a dream
It is said that fortune favours the bold, but never that being bold is easy. An odyssey is defined as a long, exciting journey, yet Odysseus was named the son of pain. The world shall reward persistence and the faith that every problem can be overcome eventually. It is time for Canadian Dynamism.
If you are building something in Canada, reach out to me here: contact@ethanmarcoux.com
Paul Ziadé: The Future of Canada's Air Defence
In Chapter One of Canadian Explorers, I sit down with Paul Ziadé to discuss developing a Canadian neo-prime, sovereign capability, startups, and what it means for Canada to start building again.
