“When Someone Doesn’t Love You, It Makes You Think, ‘why?’… Your Brain Goes To All These Different

My ps4 when I start downloading a game:

“You will never be able to experience everything. So, please, do poetical justice to your soul and simply experience yourself.”

— Albert Camus, Notebooks (via books-n-quotes)

“I am absolutely persuaded that I am nothing in this universe; yet I feel that mine is the only real existence.”

— Emil Cioran

“Oh, my beautiful broken white rose! Don’t give up on your dreams, in achieving them you are so close.”

— Girl followed by shadows 

Mathematician. Leader. Heroine. Remembering Hidden Figure Katherine Johnson

Tonight, count the stars and remember a trailblazer. 

We’re saddened by the passing of celebrated #HiddenFigures mathematician Katherine Johnson. She passed away at 101 years old. 

An America hero, Johnson’s legacy of excellence broke down racial and social barriers while helping get our space agency off the ground.

Once a “human computer”, she famously calculated the flight trajectory for Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

And when we began to use electronic computers for calculations, astronaut John Glenn said that he’d trust the computers only after Johnson personally checked the math.

As a girl, Katherine Johnson counted everything. As a mathematician, her calculations proved critical to our early successes in space travel.

With slide rules and pencils, Katherine Johnson’s brilliant mind helped launch our nation into space. No longer a Hidden Figure, her bravery and commitment to excellence leaves an eternal legacy for us all.

“We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and will go away, but there will always be science, engineering and technology. And there will always, always be mathematics.” - Katherine Johnson 1918 -2020 

May she rest in peace, and may her powerful legacy inspire generations to come! What does Katherine Johnson’s legacy mean to you? Share in the comments. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com 

ZINAIDA GIPPIUS 1869–1945

Russian poet, novelist, playwright, religious thinker, and critic, and one of the most prominent figures of the Symbolist movement during Russia’s Silver Age. The oldest of four sisters in a family that moved frequently, her early education was spotty at best. But she began writing poetry at the age of seven, and was already published by the time she met the aspiring writer Dmitry Merezhkovsky at the age of 19. The two were married within a year, though Gippius insisted that they remain equals in the relationship, with their own separate living quarters and careers. Gippius became a prolific writer of short stories, novels, and essays, and found success as a literary critic under a male pseudonym. But she was best known for her poetry which, unlike her commercial work, was dark and deeply personal. She often referred to her poems as personal prayers. Her writing helped give rise to Russian Symbolism, while earning her a reputation as a “demoness” and a “decadent Madonna,” an image which she embraced. Gippius identified with androgyny, which she expressed by wearing masculine and feminine clothing in turn. Even her poetry, which was written under her own name, was often written with a male voice. She also believed that bisexuality was the natural state of people, and wrote that “it is equally good and natural for any person to love any other person.” She had affairs with both men and women, although it’s unclear how many of the affairs were sexual, just as it’s unclear whether she had a physical relationship with her husband, who may have himself been gay. Her views of sexuality, politics, and religion were closely entwined, and she believed that sexual and gender liberation were religious and revolutionary pursuits. In 1901, she and her husband co-founded the Religious and Philosophical Meetings, which tried to create ties between Russia’s revolutionary thinkers and religious leaders under the banner of a “New Church.” Their close friend and writer Dmitry Filosofov joined their cause, and even entered into a spiritual marriage with the couple, calling themselves the “Brotherhood of Three.” Though decidedly against the Tsar, their religiosity put the three of them at odds with the emerging Bolsheviks. After the 1917 October Revolution, they were forced to flee the country, and Filosofov parted ways. Gippius and Merezhkovsky lived for periods in Poland, Italy, and France, bringing together other Russian expats and still attempting to spread their religious and philosophical ideas. But they eventually found themselves isolated from their previous friends, not helped by the fact that Gippius had made many enemies as a harsh critic and the center of several love triangles throughout her life. Merezhkovsky died suddenly in 1941, and Gippius, devastated, spent her final months writing his biography.

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Io sinceramente non riesco ad accettare di vivere in questa società.

Una società che abbonda di pregiudizi e persone ignoranti, persone che parlano senza pensare, che non sanno cosa vuol dire il rispetto.

Si parla tanto di storia, di non commettere gli stessi errori, ma siamo sempre fermi allo stesso punto.

Siamo fermi al razzismo, all'omofobia, alla paura del diverso.

Tutti siamo l'uno diverso dall'altro, ma ci dobbiamo adattare, dobbiamo seguire le mode, non possiamo essere anticonformisti, anzi abbiamo quasi paura di esserlo.

Una società fondata sulla paura, paura di essere derisi, paura di non essere approvati, paura di essere noi stessi.

Perché se siamo diversi dobbiamo ridurci ad essere tutti uguali? Per paura di essere giudicati. Ma, chi se ne frega?

Tutti abbiamo dei difetti, infondo infondo sono proprio questi a renderci perfetti.

-A