I Don't Care about Outer Space

Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/@felixmittermeier

Yes, technically I live there, on a little rock three from the sun.

Yet the universe beyond the surface of this planet feels so distant—so untouchable and unrelatable—that I just can’t muster the interest needed to muse on it, much less learn about it.

Space seems completely irrelevant to me.

A lot of people I know and respect care about space and find it fascinating. Why not me?

My favorite publications often cover topics that didn’t capture my attention before I read their journalists’ takes on the subjects. And not long ago, The New York Times had a science section full of space journalism. So I tried. I kept the section on my kitchen counter for days. I would open it and stand over it and train my eyes on the page to read its articles—and my mind wandered.

Perhaps it's good that my curiosity has limits. Too much in the world interests me as it stands, and already I have too little time to pursue it all. I can’t force interest or stress about the few things that fail to compel me.

Or should I?

What topics don’t interest you that should?