DR. QAISER MUKHTAR*
I watched my husband watching the television screen.
His face lit up as we watched SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft return from orbit on November 14 and settle into the enormous mechanical arms of its launch tower. There was such excitement on his face—the kind that makes you smile even before you have fully understood what you are looking at.
I sat there smiling with him.
I was impressed too. I sometimes need a second attempt to park between two perfectly visible lines, and here was a spacecraft coming back from space and practically parking itself.
As a scientist, I appreciate what goes into an achievement like that. The imagination, the calculations, the failed attempts, the years of refusing to give up—not to mention the money.
But I was wishing I were watching another kind of miracle unfold. One that would make everyday life better for ordinary people—not only 10 years from now, but this week or this year.
I know technology can accomplish extraordinary things. I kept thinking about where else I would love to see that capability applied.
One Little Miracle
What if I were watching a breakthrough that would make nutritious food affordable? Or, for someone worried about the next meal, simply make sure there was enough?
Not another appeal for donations, but a way to change how food and resources are distributed so that meeting a basic need does not depend on someone else’s generosity.
Perhaps the miracle would be lower prices. Perhaps a fairer share of the resources we already have. I am open to being surprised.
Something that would mean a parent could fill a grocery basket without putting things back at the checkout. Not another reminder to eat better. A practical way to make eating better possible.
I could get very excited about that.
Or a way to turn suitable empty buildings into safe, affordable homes—and get people through the door sooner. Less time moving paperwork. More progress moving people in.
Not another map showing us where the problem is. A key to a front door.
And a rent that leaves enough for groceries, medicine, and a little bit of life.
I am not asking for every problem to be solved in one television broadcast.
One little miracle would do.
Little, perhaps, to the person watching. Enormous to the person whose life had just changed.
Where My Mind Went
My husband was watching what had just become possible.
I was thinking about someone postponing a medical appointment. Someone lying awake, doing the rent calculation again, as though the numbers might become kinder after midnight.
This is where my mind goes. An occupational hazard, perhaps.
As an epidemiologist, I look at the circumstances in which people are trying to be healthy. As a human being, I find it difficult to leave those circumstances outside the room, even when something wonderful is happening on the screen.
I wanted to turn to my husband and say, “Imagine if we could bring that same brilliance and determination to making everyday life a little easier.”
Not instead of this. As well as this.
And who decides where we direct our technological capabilities—which everyday problems receive the talent and resources to solve them?
I want public health and everyday people in that conversation from the beginning.
Many of us in the South Asian community work in science, technology, medicine, business, and public service. What if we measured our achievements not only by what we can build, but also by whose lives we make better?
Ask someone stretching groceries until payday what would make life better. The answer may not sound futuristic. It still deserves our best minds.
Of course, these problems need more than an invention. We already know many of the policies that could improve food security, affordable housing, and access to healthcare. But even the best policies cannot achieve their intended impact without effective ways to put them into practice. What excites me is the possibility of technological breakthroughs that help us overcome the barriers—making nutritious food more affordable, turning unused buildings into livable homes, and bringing essential healthcare within everyone’s reach. Not simply better ways to identify problems, but ingenious ways to solve them.
But achieving this requires placing the needs of everyday people at the heart of our grand technological ambitions.
What Would Make Me Beam
I loved seeing my husband’s face light up. I want more moments like that for both of us—when we marvel not only at what technology can do, but at what it makes possible for people.
To the brilliant minds making the seemingly impossible possible: You have shown us what you are capable of. May I have your attention for a moment?
Could you give us the technological equivalent of a magic wand—one that puts nutritious food within reach, keeps the lights on, and opens doors to affordable homes?
Oh, and while I have your attention, could we have a little more peace and a lot less war?
Is that too much to ask?
The future is coming, whether we are ready or not. But what kind of future are we creating, and for whom? One that takes a fortunate few to the stars, or one that also makes life better for the millions who will remain here on Earth?
I would love to see us accomplish both. And I would love to see it happen in my lifetime.
Then you will see me beaming.
Possibly breaking into a bhangra move or two.
*Dr. Qaiser Mukhtar is a writer and former public health scientist whose work explores identity, family, memory, and the quiet emotional architecture of everyday life. She is the author of Almost Light and Grammar of Daughters and lives in Georgia.
