By William Crooks
Elon Musk says he wants to take us to Mars and beyond. This is an admittedly noble goal; he justifies it by citing the need for human beings to become a “spacefaring species” to maximize the long-term possibility of our very existence. Astrophysicists tell us our Sun will explode in about 5 billion years, so why not start the project now? In interviews, I have seen him speak of an existential crisis (“what is it all about?”) he had as a teen. As many tend to do, he turned to the works of the great philosophers for answers. “The Germans are depressing,” he said, presumably referring to writers such as Nietzsche and Schopenhauer. But a slightly more recent great thinker, Ludwig Wittgenstein (who happened to be Austrian), tells us he realized in his youth that even if all scientific and technological problems were solved, all of humanity’s deepest problems would still remain! It seems to me a sign of our times that an immensely capable man like Musk would instinctively turn to working on complex technological solutions that may ultimately miss the point entirely. Who is working on any of these “deeper problems” at all, and are they doing it well? If accomplishments were made in this realm (or have been made), it is not clear to me there are many who would be able to appreciate them…
On this day, Café Pierre Jean Jase in the heart of Sherbrooke. It was a 10-minute drive from my house, and there is not really a lot of good parking nearby. Two Good Eggs joined me for breakfast. The place is small and charming, fitting perhaps 40 people at full capacity. Artwork by three local artists lines its walls, the floors are hardwood, and its lights are noticeably beautiful and stained-glass. They have chosen an open bar/kitchen concept that works well with the feeling of the place as a whole. There is a patio outside for times of good weather.
