The landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars last night highlights the amazing things that we can do with science, dedication, a thirst for knowledge, and a drive for exploration.

But in contrast to my anthropocentric cheer-leading, such an astonishing accomplishment (given the “7-minutes of terror” we had to overcome) reminds me that there are those of us who still do not give credit where credit is due. We can put people on the moon, we can smash atoms together to discover the fabric of the cosmos, we can send a science lab to Mars, but conspiracy theorists still think that humans could not have built the pyramids or flattened a few crops in a field, for example. This sort of blind thinking saddens me. It diminishes the very real human effort and perseverance (and many times, lives lost) that went into shaping some of the most important milestones in history.

Out of my frustration, I quickly created the graphic below (and feel free to reproduce it):

So, give humanity some credit. We can literally move mountains, send our fellow men and women into the void of space, handle disease on an atomic scale, and explore the very organs that allow us to skeptically question the universe. With the proper drive and resources, we can accomplish amazing things. The success of the Curiosity mission is testament to that.

Cross-posted at the There Are Four Lights blog