astrophilia

One wonders but cannot even approximate, just what percentage of earth's population in any given century in the past has tried to go high into the sky. I suspect that the incidence of astrophilia may have been constant throughout our complicated evolution.

1979 July, Charles S. Houston, “Introductory Address: Lessons to be Learned from High Altitude”, in Postgraduate Medical Journal, volume 55, number 645, page 447

I still follow astronomical research with interest and participate in discussions on sci.astro. But as I matured I stopped believing in miracles. I liken the exuberance of astrophiles to the desperation of cancer patients. Ask doctors what they can do about cancer, and they can't yet offer much hope. Yet patients believe that somewhere, something that already exists must help. So they disbelieve the doctors and start popping shark cartilage or laetrile or whatever. So it is with astrophilia. Impatient with the slow pace of the careful space research that actually allows us to get a few people off this rock and return them safely, they propose hasty schemes that probably will not work, and pooh-pooh the stodgy establishment scien-tists.

1997 January 12, John Ladasky, “Re: Space junk??? Not here. Time for a new newsgroup?”, in alt.politics.greens (Usenet)