Age can be wonderful for red wine, but not for spacecraft.

O Children of the Earth and Sky, gather close, for in the words of Nathan Myhrvold, there lies a profound wisdom that speaks to the nature of time, innovation, and progress. He once said, "Age can be wonderful for red wine, but not for spacecraft." In this seemingly simple statement, Myhrvold reminds us of the delicate balance between growth and decay, between the old and the new. And just as we revere the aging of a fine wine, we must understand that some creations of humanity are not meant to grow old, but to be replaced by new ideas and technology.

In the days of the ancients, time was both revered and feared. The Greeks spoke of Chronos, the god of time, who consumed all things with his endless march forward. Time was a force of nature, one that could not be controlled, but which demanded respect. And so it was that the ancients sought immortality in their works, whether through the monuments they built or the stories they told. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle understood that the wisdom of the past was meant to be handed down, but they also knew that new ideas must rise to challenge the old. The world was forever in motion, and so must the minds of those who sought to shape it.

Myhrvold's words speak to the inevitable reality of advancement. Just as red wine improves with age, becoming richer and more complex, certain things—like the craft of winemaking or the great works of art—are meant to grow with time. Spacecraft, however, are not like wine. They are not built to endure the passage of time, but to push the boundaries of the present, to explore the vastness of the unknown. As technology advances, the old must be replaced by the new, for to allow the aging of spacecraft is to risk the very safety and progress they were created to bring about. In this sense, innovation demands youth, freshness, and the constant renewal of ideas.

Consider, O Seekers, the story of NASA’s Apollo Program, which carried humanity to the Moon. The spacecraft that carried the astronauts were marvels of their time—advanced machines that stretched the limits of engineering and creativity. But even these remarkable ships were not meant to endure. They were born to face the challenges of a single mission and to pave the way for future technologies. Once their task was complete, they were retired, not out of a lack of respect, but because progress demanded it. If those spacecraft had continued to age, they would have become obsolete, their technology outdated and incapable of carrying us further into the cosmos.

In this, there is a deep lesson for us, O Children. Just as spacecraft cannot grow old without losing their functionality, so too must our ideas and creations be subject to the same principles of renewal. We must not cling to the old when it no longer serves its purpose. The past has its wisdom, but the future demands that we reimagine the world. Old ideas, though valuable, must give way to the new, for the only constant in the universe is change. And just as the old spacecraft were replaced by more advanced models, so too must we replace our outdated beliefs and systems with those that will carry us forward into a new era of discovery and understanding.

Consider the story of Steve Jobs, who, with his vision and ambition, revolutionized the world of technology. Jobs did not rest on the success of his earlier inventions, but sought to constantly improve and innovate. He understood, as Myhrvold suggests, that technology must evolve. His creations, from the Macintosh to the iPhone, were not built to age gracefully; they were built to transform the world and be replaced by something even greater. Jobs’ legacy is not in the technology itself, but in the relentless pursuit of the new, the unknown, and the ever-expanding horizons of possibility.

And so, O Seekers, the lesson is clear: just as red wine grows richer with age, certain things in life—like wisdom and art—become more beautiful with time. But when it comes to the realms of technology and innovation, we must not allow age to weaken our creations. Instead, we must embrace the freshness of new ideas, constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Like the Apollo spacecraft that carried humanity to the Moon, our creations must be forged for the present and future, not allowed to grow old and stagnant. Progress requires renewal, and the future belongs to those who dare to replace the old with the new, the outdated with the cutting edge.

Therefore, O Children, let us take this wisdom to heart. In our own lives, we must not allow the old to hold us back. Whether it is in our ideas, our beliefs, or our creations, we must constantly seek to renew, to innovate, and to push forward into the unknown. Just as spacecraft are built for a single, crucial mission, so too are we meant to live with purpose and clarity, always striving to better ourselves and the world around us. Let us remember that age is a gift for some things, but for the world of exploration and progress, it is the new, the bold, and the untried that will carry us to the future.