Open inquiry

Questions

Stories first. These families exist so a reader can enter, not so this Guide can taxonomize the human condition.

Faith

What can be entrusted when certainty is absent?

Faith is not proof. It may still be a historical practice of trust.

These three remainA letter · Corinth · mid-50s CE Without instrumentsnavigation · Honolua Bay, Maui Naturally, come inLe Chambon · June 1940 · a kitchen door Four at the counterGreensboro · 1 February 1960 · four stools Is this AmericaAtlantic City · 1964 · a testimony they tried to cover

Uncertainty

What can we know before acting?

Separate what they knew from what they could not know. That pair is a signature of this Guide.

Important enoughSpaceflight · unfavorable odds · engineering risk A square pegApollo 13 · procedure · a lost landing The experiment that found nothingCleveland · ether wind · a published nothing The uninvited guestSt. Mary’s · chance · a contaminated plate The pauseAsilomar · recombinant DNA · a voted halt Without instrumentsnavigation · Honolua Bay, Maui The alarm that was notEarly warning · 1983 · a report he did not make The second voteSubmarine · 1962 · a torpedo that was not fired She wrote while dyingSilver Spring · 1962 · a book, not a confession The hole they did not expectHalley Bay · 1985 · a measurement kept The pulse that was not interferenceCambridge · 1967 · a chart that was not noise The grid she leftBrooklyn · 1948 · a table of triplets The solar batteryMurray Hill · 1954 · a made current The line that movedHighland Park · 7 October 1913 · a first article LOBoelter Hall · 29 October 1969 · two letters The last caseMerca · 1977 · a cook, then none Not yetFDA · 1960–62 · a signature she would not give WowOhio · 1977 · seventy-two seconds The curveMauna Loa · 29 March 1958 · a first day Our 42Project history · a 404

Risk

Who bears the downside?

A wealthy founder and a displaced family are not examples of the same risk-taking mindset.

Important enoughSpaceflight · unfavorable odds · engineering risk Ninety-seven milesAntarctica · turning back · 1909 The pauseAsilomar · recombinant DNA · a voted halt The alarm that was notEarly warning · 1983 · a report he did not make The second voteSubmarine · 1962 · a torpedo that was not fired The night beforeChallenger · the night before · a no that was unsigned Visas for lifeKaunas · 1940 · transit visas against instruction The housewives of NiagaraLove Canal · 1978 · a kitchen table becoming a record The line that movedHighland Park · 7 October 1913 · a first article The twins were not askedHong Kong · 2018 · a downside that was not his Not yetFDA · 1960–62 · a signature she would not give

Importance

When is something important enough to justify unfavorable odds?

Then: who decides? Who bears the cost if it fails? What would make stopping the wiser move?

Important enoughSpaceflight · unfavorable odds · engineering risk

Hope

What keeps the future open?

Hope that has already purchased the ending is not hope. It is marketing.

The question stayed openLiterature · 42 · a joke that had to be a number These three remainA letter · Corinth · mid-50s CE Seven treesNairobi · seven trees · 1977 The noteCopiapó · the 33 · a letter up a borehole They hugged the treesReni forest · 1974 · Chipko The housewives of NiagaraLove Canal · 1978 · a kitchen table becoming a record She wrote while dyingSilver Spring · 1962 · a book, not a confession The hole they did not expectHalley Bay · 1985 · a measurement kept The grid she leftBrooklyn · 1948 · a table of triplets The solar batteryMurray Hill · 1954 · a made current Four at the counterGreensboro · 1 February 1960 · four stools The leafletsMontgomery · 1955 · a one-day call The last caseMerca · 1977 · a cook, then none The grants refusedPhiladelphia · 1995 · a demotion, a molecule still inflammatory The little shipsDunkirk · 26 May 1940 · an operation, first day slow The curveMauna Loa · 29 March 1958 · a first day Our 42Project history · a 404

Courage

What does action look like while fear remains?

Sometimes it looks like a checklist. Sometimes like a phone call. Sometimes like turning around.

A square pegApollo 13 · procedure · a lost landing Seven treesNairobi · seven trees · 1977 The noteCopiapó · the 33 · a letter up a borehole I am just going outsideRoss Ice Shelf · 1912 · a tent with one man fewer Visas for lifeKaunas · 1940 · transit visas against instruction They hugged the treesReni forest · 1974 · Chipko The housewives of NiagaraLove Canal · 1978 · a kitchen table becoming a record She wrote while dyingSilver Spring · 1962 · a book, not a confession Naturally, come inLe Chambon · June 1940 · a kitchen door The line that movedHighland Park · 7 October 1913 · a first article No hydraulicsSioux City · 1989 · engines as rudder Four at the counterGreensboro · 1 February 1960 · four stools Is this AmericaAtlantic City · 1964 · a testimony they tried to cover The organizer asked to step backWashington · 1963 · the schedule behind the speech The leafletsMontgomery · 1955 · a one-day call The grants refusedPhiladelphia · 1995 · a demotion, a molecule still inflammatory He paddled anywayKaiwi Channel · 1978 · a board, then a search The little shipsDunkirk · 26 May 1940 · an operation, first day slow

Failure

What changes when the attempt does not work?

Include failures whose ending stayed failure. Survivorship bias is an enemy of the corpus.

The experiment that found nothingCleveland · ether wind · a published nothing This actually happenedWestern Australia · 1932 · this actually happened The night beforeChallenger · the night before · a no that was unsigned The pulse that was not interferenceCambridge · 1967 · a chart that was not noise The solar batteryMurray Hill · 1954 · a made current No hydraulicsSioux City · 1989 · engines as rudder LOBoelter Hall · 29 October 1969 · two letters Is this AmericaAtlantic City · 1964 · a testimony they tried to cover The grants refusedPhiladelphia · 1995 · a demotion, a molecule still inflammatory The twins were not askedHong Kong · 2018 · a downside that was not his He paddled anywayKaiwi Channel · 1978 · a board, then a search The curveMauna Loa · 29 March 1958 · a first day

Chance

What do we make of what nobody planned?

Accident is not promoted into authorship.

The uninvited guestSt. Mary’s · chance · a contaminated plate Along the lineFlanders · Christmas 1914 · unofficial, unfinished The hole they did not expectHalley Bay · 1985 · a measurement kept The pulse that was not interferenceCambridge · 1967 · a chart that was not noise No hydraulicsSioux City · 1989 · engines as rudder LOBoelter Hall · 29 October 1969 · two letters The last caseMerca · 1977 · a cook, then none WowOhio · 1977 · seventy-two seconds The little shipsDunkirk · 26 May 1940 · an operation, first day slow

Play

What changes when another move remains possible?

And: when should you stop playing?

The question stayed openLiterature · 42 · a joke that had to be a number This actually happenedWestern Australia · 1932 · this actually happened Without instrumentsnavigation · Honolua Bay, Maui Along the lineFlanders · Christmas 1914 · unofficial, unfinished WowOhio · 1977 · seventy-two seconds Our 42Project history · a 404

Stopping

When is continuing no longer courage?

This Guide should be able to laugh at itself, and to admit that everyone else may be right.

A square pegApollo 13 · procedure · a lost landing Ninety-seven milesAntarctica · turning back · 1909 The pauseAsilomar · recombinant DNA · a voted halt The alarm that was notEarly warning · 1983 · a report he did not make The second voteSubmarine · 1962 · a torpedo that was not fired The night beforeChallenger · the night before · a no that was unsigned I am just going outsideRoss Ice Shelf · 1912 · a tent with one man fewer The twins were not askedHong Kong · 2018 · a downside that was not his Not yetFDA · 1960–62 · a signature she would not give

Love

What becomes possible because another life matters?

Love may motivate courage. It does not cancel another person’s freedom.

Ninety-seven milesAntarctica · turning back · 1909 These three remainA letter · Corinth · mid-50s CE Seven treesNairobi · seven trees · 1977 The noteCopiapó · the 33 · a letter up a borehole I am just going outsideRoss Ice Shelf · 1912 · a tent with one man fewer Along the lineFlanders · Christmas 1914 · unofficial, unfinished Visas for lifeKaunas · 1940 · transit visas against instruction They hugged the treesReni forest · 1974 · Chipko Naturally, come inLe Chambon · June 1940 · a kitchen door The organizer asked to step backWashington · 1963 · the schedule behind the speech The leafletsMontgomery · 1955 · a one-day call He paddled anywayKaiwi Channel · 1978 · a board, then a search