Isolation, Not Loneliness: Reframing Michael Collins’s Moon Orbit
The piece argues that Michael Collins, who was physically isolated behind the Moon for about 47 minutes each orbit, did not feel lonely; it distinguishes isolation (a factual state) from loneliness (a feeling), using Collins’ reflections from Carrying the Fire and his routine in the command module to illustrate the nuance and encourage careful language about solitude in extreme contexts.