Over the course of time my FTL wanderings have led me down many paths. Some of those paths were well lit, but some were dark, shrouded in the misty fog of the unknown. The pathways that represent the road less traveled have, for me, always represented the path toward knowledge. When I was young and a bit on the naive side, I assumed this was a good thing. I now know better. To be useful, knowledge must not just be known. It must be working knowledge. It's the difference between knowing birds fly, and knowing how birds fly... the idea of humans flying like the birds has been with humanity for thousands of years. The story of Daedalus and Icarus written between 30 - 60 B.C.E. come firmly to mind. When we finally gained understanding of how birds fly we built airplanes, jets, and rockets. Even though it took decades to go from the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk to the Apollo moon landings, some would say it happened too fast; that our technological advancements occurred faster than our ability to adapt to the changes those advancements brought about. There is a term for the future happening too quickly: Future Shock. Future shock is defined as a state of distress or disorientation due to rapid social or technological change.
The fictional familiarity of human powered flight no doubt lessened the aspect of future shock when the real thing eventually happened. Unfortunately, I don't presently think the same can be said for superluminal communications. In the above case, all those thousands of years of fictional stories going from Greek mythology onwards serve as a social buffer. Even if the average citizen knew nothing of flight, they at least heard or read stories of people flying like birds. Heck, even if they knew nothing of Greek Mythology, the average person could observe birds flying - and that is absolute evidence for the reality of flight. Not knowing how a bird flies will not stop anyone from enjoying eating a chicken or a duck... all those real world facts no doubt lessened the future shock value to socially acceptable levels when the time finally came for humanity to fly like the birds. What of superluminal communication? As of right now, I would argue there are almost no facts to cause social buffering to occur. Unlike our avian friends, there are presently no animal species that make use of overt superluminal phenomena. When superluminal communications systems based on quantum phenomena suddenly begin to pop up all over the world, it will seem like magic. Even the learned men and women of academia, as well as philosophers, being caught off-guard, will offer no meaningful explanations. What will anyone really be able to say especially when the mantra for so long has been that useful superluminal phenomena is 'IMPOSSIBLE'? At a time when explanation is needed most, the silence will be deafening. The potential for future shock will be off the charts...
Yet, even in my darker meanderings down the road less travelled, I have reason to hope for a brighter future. See, we have been here before. Many times. Lord Kelvin famously said in 1895 that, "heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible", and in 1894 he propounded that, "Wireless communication (radio) has no future". In January 1956, Richard van der Reit Wolley, the British Astronomer Royal, said, "Space travel is utter bilge." And it is not just limited to scientific subjects. Jim Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, told Elvis Presley when he fired him, "You ain't goin' nowhere, son - you ought to go back to drivin' a truck." Imagine being known more for a cringe-worthy quote than for anything else you may have accomplished in life, either good or bad? Yes, these quote masters lived to know how utterly wrong they were.
It has been said that advancement in any established field is slow and occurs one funeral at a time. I guess this is the dark, painful side of progress... but it must happen. Despite the naysayers, history has shown that human ingenuity and determination can defy the odds. We stand on the shoulders of those who dared to dream, who pushed the boundaries of what was thought to be possible. Their failures were stepping stones, not stumbling blocks.
Consider the Wright Brothers, who turned the impossible notion of human flight into reality. Or the scientists who unlocked the secrets of DNA, unraveling the very code of life. Each breakthrough, each discovery is a surety, as well as a testament, to our resilience and curiosity.
As we venture into the uncharted territories of superluminal communication, let us embrace the unknown with hope. For beyond the veil of impossibility lies a universe of infinite potential waiting to be explored. And perhaps, just perhaps, the next generation will look back at our doubts and smile, knowing that we too were part of the grand tapestry of progress. Keep dreaming, keep pushing, and remember: the impossible is merely a challenge yet to be conquered.