A few of my readers might have noticed that the 'rag' known as 'The Guardian' has published an article on jetpacks, and in some of the 'JetPack circles' I move in, I have even seen it being referred to as 'the definitive article on JetPacks'. However, as I read the article, and I'm not saying it's a bad article by any means, but as I read it, I noticed one glaring omission. So glaring in fact that I could, in all honesty, not not write a retort to the article, which, as I have said, is not bad by any means. Except, well it is, kind of, by one mean, and perhaps the most important mean of them all, and that's the size and mass of the pilot, and force needed to lift a human off the ground in a prolonged and sustained manner. I am, of course, talking about humans using jetpacks which is something, due to current technological restrictions, is, of course, unfeasible. However, as my article will lay out, in no particular detail, why this restriction does not, indeed, apply to dogs.
So often in JetPack discussion, in fact I would say about 100% of the discourse, we focus on JetPack design with such stringent limitations. We concentrate on designing the JetPack for an anthropoid form, assuming that, like with most things in this world, the end product should be based on a human. But, if we start to move away from these constraints, these rain sodden dark clouds that obscure our vision from the 'true blue' skies that JetPacks were designed to fly in, a whole new world of design and innovation opens up to us. This article shall not focus on the technical side of JetPack (JP) design, because I have already submitted a 'white paper' for 'peer review' on that, no no, this is very much about how we treat animals, specifically dogs, and specifically regarding JP's in our worldview, a worldview that is far far too focused on ourselves and a worldview that needs to be expanded to include other lifeforms who think, feel and love just as we do.
First of all, I want to ask you, dear reader, why we 'want' a JP in the first place. What need is a JP trying to fill, why do we want one? What on earth have we being doing, for thousands of years, by yearning for the desire to have individual powered flight? Because, if you are honest, that is what a JetPack is, it's our attempt to be birds, to be something other than we are not. And yet, those doors of perception are rarely opened, because we, and I don't say this lightly, are too damn focused on our damn selves. We want to be able to fly like a bird, and think like a human, not even for one hot minute, considering what it might be like to 'think like a bird'. We have spent decades designing JP's, not thinking for even a second, might dogs not want to take to the skies too? Despite a popular misconception, dogs can totally look up, dogs can see birds, and dogs dream (why not) about flying too, just like us.
Perhaps, we could use some 'mindfulness' to further explore this topic? A friend, a human friend, sent me a website which had some mindfulness stuff on it, and didn't cost me anything to listen to it, so listen to it I did. The following, aforementioned, mantra was repeated, and if I may, I would like to repeat it to you. Consider, please, when you read the below, dogs, and how dogs might, like us, actually want similar things, like being happy, like flying through the air. The mantra was:
'May I be safe, may I be peaceful, may I be healthy, may I live my life with ease'
This is repeated, with various expanding scenarios, with yourself, then with a trusted friend, then with people you know, then with people in your neighbourhood, people in your city, then the world, and then finally with all living things like animals and so on. At the end, it makes sense, yeah yeah, yeah, why not, why shouldn't I wish for peace, for safety, for heath, for a life with ease for everyone, for everything? Why not, I mean, why not, got me thinking, it really did. And a human made this, this is a human idea, compassion isn't just a human trait of course, but wishing compassion, peace, health and kindness for all sentient life? Why shouldn't dogs fly on JP's, like we are able to do so, however limited we are in doing so due to our weight and spinal structure? Might dogs be better suited to JP's than we are? The answer is unequivocally, yes.
In the five or so years I have been 'obsessed' with JP's, I have found myself constantly coming up against a brick wall, a JetPack speciesism if you will. Have you seen that Alan Partridge clip, where he is shouting Dan a lot and the guy called Dan just ignores him and walks on but he keeps on shouting Dan as he either can't or won't believe that he's been ignored? If you haven't seen it, I would suggest you just type in Dan Dan Alan Partridge into YouTube to see what I mean. When it comes to dogs using JP's, it makes me think about that clip a lot. Replace the word 'Dan' with 'JetPacks', replace the character 'Dan' with your 'average JetPack designer', replace 'Alan Partridge' with a 'dog barking, barking to be able to fly' and replace the 'car park' they are in with 'vast infinite space that is our unexplored heavens', and I think you get the picture. I have been ignored and even made fun of, for merely suggesting that these designs are fundamentally flawed because they are primarily based around the humanoid form.
'What are you talking about, flying dogs? They would crash and burn in a second, why do you want this, get out, get the fuck out of here' is a common 'phrase' that I have heard, time and time and time and time again. This, however, ignores the many many many examples of dogs piloting other forms of transport, such as skateboards, surfboards, small cars (designed for dogs) and even trains. It also reveals a flaw in focusing too much on the human, and that is we are learning so much about animals in general and how they think. Every day, it seems, animal complexity is being re-evaluated based on things we are learning about them. And that is not even taking into account future technologies that will bring human to non human communication further to the point of language transference and knowledge sharing. To assume that 'todays dog' will be the same as 'tomorrows dog' is a huge mistake, and certainly one that I am not going to make in any way, shape or form.
Imagine, if you will, the implications of furthering a society with JetPack powered intelligent sentient dogs as a standard. Rescue dogs, builder dogs, doctor dogs and even deep sea diver dogs (why restrict ourselves to just the skies?) all helping us while at the same time helping themselves, and all with the ability to fly, as nature so obviously did not intend. I don't see a problem with sharing the same rights as another species, and indeed, if this were to happen, perhaps we would see other major changes in society, and think differently about what we eat and how we treat other forms of life. Remember, no living thing, for the most part, wants to give up their lives to be eaten. Indeed, there is a company that sells dog meat on the internet that, I am sure you will agree, needs to be stopped. Dogs in JetPacks, not six packs (of dog meat).
Like I mentioned earlier, I have not gone into the technical details too much regarding why dogs are (proven)to be much better designed to use JetPacks, that is not what this blog post is about, but the basics are that their spines naturally bend away from heat source that conventional jetpacks emit, and that their weight allows for a longer, and more sustainable flight. I won't bore you with the pages and pages of science and mathematics I have written on this, but all you should know is, they are, and just accept it. As humans, we are designed great for some things (picking our noses, archery or making toast) but poor in others (JetPacks, high jumping or holding our breath) and embracing those limitations, while promoting other attributes to non humans with regards to technology, is IMHO, one of the keys to unlocking our future. A future that's bright, forward thinking and should be part of any political parties manifestos going forward. And yet, somehow, I doubt I will see this included in any of them. For shame.
In conclusion, I think I have adequately demonstrated why I believe we should stop funding human based JetPack propulsion and focus on the non human variety. We should start opening our minds to an inclusive, more mindful experience with regards to technology and other life forms. I think Carl Sagan said it best when he said, and I quote
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known"
As always, I would like to take the time to thank you for your time, and wish you a happy and fulfilling day that's exciting, but also safe, which is exactly what I want for dogs with JetPacks too.
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