The ‘Small Self’ Effect

In 1968, three astronauts were sent to orbit the moon. On Christmas Eve, during their fourth lap, the astronaut Bill Anders was preparing to take a series of images of the lunar surface when he spotted the Earth rising above the horizon. The photo he snapped would become known as Earthrise.

Humanity had seen a few images of the planet before, but not like this. We were just sort of hanging there, enveloped in blue-and-white swirls—delicate, vulnerable, beautiful—but otherwise surrounded by darkness.  Back on Earth, the image circulated quickly, showing up on television, and in magazines and newspapers around the planet.

You’ve likely seen the photo before, so you can feel its meaning without even thinking about it: It’s too easy to get caught up in our own little