Shoot for the stars

Ok people, I need to address something here. The expression "shoot for the stars". Why do people say it? Well, traditionally it means have great aspirations for yourself. Similar to the "sky is the limit" idea. Thats great and all, but lets look into a bit of the science involved.

Most of the stars that we can see with the naked eye are many lightyears away. Thus, it takes the light from those stars many, many Earth years to reach us. So, in actuality, the stars that we can see may have very well exploded already. You know, supernovas.

So, when people say, "shoot for the stars," they are may be telling you to shoot for something that doesn't exist. Thus, implying that you give yourself aspirations that are unachievable.

I think a new phrase needs to be coined here. Because the other one, "the sky is the limit," doesn't really make sense either. The sky is not the limit. Ask anyone who has ever traveled into space. The sky is just Earth's atmosphere. And in Carl Sagan's words, Earth is just a, "mote of dust suspended in a sun beam." Makes you feel pretty insignificant, eh?

No, I don't have any ideas yet as to what the new phrase should be. I'll think about it.