Commentary
Just how big does a security threat have to be before we start to worry? I have a confession to make. Yes, it is true, I’ve been a huge fan of Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” ever since I watched the 1981 TV series. This irreverent, clever look at the adventures of Arthur Dent who escapes Earth just before the Vogons destroy it to build a hyperspace bypass has entertained me for decades.
There is a part in the series that bears on the topic for today: significance. In the Guide the narrator notes that “Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mindbogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space.”…