Monday, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

NASA is in the middle of an investigation into that messy love triangle involving two astronauts. This is the one where a female space cadet was stalking a rival of her love object, another space cadet. If that weren’t enough now comes word that on at least two occasions, a shuttle crew was drunk when they launched into space! Say What!?

As outrageous as this sounds, it occurs to me that if I was sitting on top of a twenty story bomb designed to blow me out of the atmosphere, I too might have enough anxiety to need a change of mood. Nonetheless this is yet another black eye for the space program. It certainly raises questions about their screening process that welcomes some individuals of apparently fragile psyches into the program.

What’s the Problem?

Where is the healthy balance between mastering our technical skills and our emotional stability? Although this is an old question, it is ever more pertinent in the current environment of breathless technological change. Each year companies and organizations face the challenge of hiring new prospects. This means trying to find technical wizards who are psychologically grounded and emotionally mature. It’s a combination that is not found in abundance.

As cliche as it sounds, there often are too many with excellent engineering abilities who are poor communicators and emotionally stunted. In contrast there are glib personalities with anemic technical skills. How do we cultivate this coveted combination? Although much of our personality is dictated by our genetics and upbringing, social norms dictate that we are expected to rise above how each of these factors limits us. Becoming a mature, competent adult is a moral challenge requiring us to grow intellectuly and emotionally.

Colorful personalities are responsible to cultivate their technical abilities while technical wizards are challenged to nurture their interpersonal skills. Individuals who try to get by on their native gifts without attending to their weaknesses limit their success and dampen their joy. To live a fulfilled human life requires the discipline in both what comes easy and what seems unnatural.