- The Captains Log
- Posts
- Interstellar
Interstellar
Ambitions
Joshua Sprigg
March 16, 2025
Read time: Under 4 minutes
Fuelling the Fire… A Lifetime of Curiosity
I’ve always had this thing for space.
Even as a kid, I couldn’t quite grasp how we were just floating here, on this blue bubble, surrounded by stars and planets. My little underdeveloped brain couldn’t compute it. Too vast. Too surreal. Too… impossible.
Then there was my dad who fed me mind-blowing theories about what life could be. I’d sit there, absolutely mesmerised, thinking I was hearing the greatest sci-fi movie script of all time… only to later realise the guy was just regurgitating The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Genius, really.
Then, in 1998, I lost my Opa - my Dutch grandfather. I was 8. I didn’t really understand it, but I felt it. I didn’t cry, not because I didn’t care, but because I was confused about what grief even was at that age. What I did understand was the absence, the missing rough stubble kisses when I got home from school, the hugs I resisted (but secretly liked), and the feeling that something had shifted.
That same year, I ran to the beach, climbed onto the roof of an abandoned hotel with my best friend Dylan, left our BMXs on the side, and just stared at Orion’s Belt for hours. Talking. Thinking. Wondering.
Even back then, I had this undeniable pull toward space.
Now, as an adult, that pull hasn’t gone anywhere. And weirdly, space is more relevant than ever before in my lifetime.
The sheer volume of investment, innovation, and breakthroughs in space exploration is mind-blowing. I’ve spoken to space medicine professors at UCL, and what they’re working on is next level. When I met Tim Peake, listening to his experiences in space and the biotech experiments happening up there, I saw a link between healthcare and space, the exact intersection where my work could live.
That’s the bigger picture behind O something I’ve been quietly building for over a year now. I believe we can launch next year. Maybe.
Either way, it’s my life project.
(If time exists. Muahahaha.)
MIND
The Universe, Consciousness & Theories That Will Melt Your Brain
Gif by spotify on Giphy
I’ve been diving deep into some seriously mind-expanding research lately. A few wild theories that have caught my attention:
🧠 The Orch OR Theory (Orchestrated Objective Reduction) — Roger Penrose & Stuart Hameroff suggest that consciousness is a quantum process happening inside our brain’s microtubules, potentially linking us to the universe itself.
🌌 Fractal Consciousness — Some researchers believe consciousness might scale infinitely, entangling with quantum particles beyond the brain and potentially extending throughout the universe. (Essentially, we could all be part of one big cosmic mind.)
⚛️ Quantum Myelin Theory — A 2024 study suggests that myelin (the sheath around brain neurons) might enable quantum entanglement, supporting the idea that our brains interact with the universe in ways we don’t yet understand.
⚡ Cosmic Bio-Connectivity — Studies show human heart rate variability correlates with cosmic phenomena (Schumann Resonances, Solar Wind Indices, Galactic Cosmic Rays). Are we more connected to space than we realise?
💡 Some researchers argue that ancient wisdom and modern science need to merge, that consciousness might be a universal event expanding from human genes to galaxies.
These ideas are still on the fringe of science, but they make me wonder:
What if human consciousness is a universal function, not just a biological one?
What if the ‘gut feeling’ we get is an actual quantum-level connection to something bigger?
Whether these theories turn out to be true or not, it’s clear that we still don’t fully understand what consciousness is or how it works.
And that alone is fascinating.
BODY
Stay Fit, Stay Ready, Reach for the Stars
If you can stay fit and able long enough, you might just get to explore space travel in your lifetime.
Personally, I’m keeping up with H (my 11, nearly 12-year-old) who STILL has me waking up at 5:15 AM to work out and meditate.
(Yes, his routine, not mine. No, I’m not allowed to quit. Ever.)
I also checked out a local gym near me, thinking of making it my sanctuary for zoning out. Headphones in. Zero distractions. Let’s see how it goes.
EXPLORATION
Japan Planning Update
Still planning for Japan in July.
H and I decided that instead of trying to see all of Japan, we’re going to just focus on Tokyo.
Why? Because we’re geeking out over Tokyo specifically.
I mean, people visit New York without seeing the whole US and London without seeing all of England, so we figured, why not just go all in on Tokyo and return another time for the rest of Japan?
✅ Bullet trains locked in.
✅ Exploring Tokyo’s wildest spots.
✅ Pokemon World? Full send.
If you’ve been to Tokyo and have recommendations - send them my way!
(just hit reply!)
CHALLENGE
From Tea & Sugar to Books & Obsession
The whole tea and sugar challenge is ongoing (blah blah, working on it, let’s move on).
New Challenge: Intentional Reading.
📚 I’m a book addict. But I have a terrible habit, I buy books, start them, read sections, skim parts… then leave them unfinished.
It’s not that I don’t get value from them, I extract the key insights fast, but it drives me mad that they sit there, unfinished.
(Is this a weird obsessive thing? Maybe. Is it a trauma response from cleaning yachts as a kid and getting bollocked for missing water spots on a chrome railing? Possibly….)
So, my next challenge: Read my chosen books in a sequence that builds on prior knowledge AND apply what I learn before moving on.
Heres the hack (I know I am probably a decade late to the party) I got audible.
Final Thoughts | The Sky Is Not the Limit
Since childhood, I’ve been obsessed with space.
Now? I’m not just dreaming about it, I’m building within it.
🚀 Project O is more than an idea, it’s a mission.
🚀 Healthcare & space are merging in ways we’ve never seen before.
🚀 The next 10 years could redefine everything we know about life beyond Earth.
And if we do this right? We won’t just be looking at the stars.
We’ll be out there.
TL;DR 🚀 | This Week in a Nutshell
Space has shaped my thinking since childhood and now, I’m building within it.
Consciousness & the universe? More connected than we think.
Body: Staying fit for the long haul (and potential space travel).
Exploration: Japan locked in, Tokyo is the move.
Challenge: No more half-reading books, fully finish & apply.
The future is here.
Stay curious.
Keep moving forward.
Yours in exploration,
Captain Sprigg
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."