“The task of a teacher is to provide a non-coercive rearrangement of desire.” —Gayatri Spivak

Within the spinning pot of the Earth churns a layer of liquid iron. Because molten iron conducts electricity, and because it is in continuous motion in the outer core, it creates electrical currents. This acts as an electric generator for our planet, casting magnetic fields that combine into one all-encompassing field. The entirety of this process is known as the geodynamo. It whirls away in the background of our lives, without which life as we know it would not exist.

The magnetic field is made up of closed currents that emerge from one end of the Earth, curve outward through space, and then reenter at the opposite end. This is what produces our planet’s North and South poles, though these are merely entry and exit points. A magnetic field is unbroken, with no true beginning or end. It is the fate of any magnetic force to produce polarity; the trick is remembering that it is all one continuous current.

This field envelopes us in a protective layer called the magnetosphere, which helps filter out charged particles emitted by the sun—solar wind—and diverts them around the globe. Near the poles, some of these particles are drawn into our atmosphere, where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen. There, the invisible becomes visible as the magnitude of Earth’s magnetic splendor is illuminated across the sky in vivid color: the aurora borealis and aurora australis. 

Many species have evolved to use the magnetic field in remarkable ways. European robins can visualize it, the field casting a gradient across their vision so they know which way is poleward. Loggerhead sea turtles use it to navigate the ocean and return to the beaches where they first hatched. Honeybees detect the magnetic field using granules of iron in their abdomens, helping them fly, forage, and align their honeycombs. To live is to make maps of the intangible.

Humans have done this, too. The first compasses were spoons made from naturally magnetized lodestone that aligned itself with the magnetic field. First used for geomancy and divination in Han dynasty China, they were later adapted for navigation on ships. As the use of the needle compasses spread around the world, the world changed for better and for worse, charting a course that would eventually lead to our deeply polarized present day.

It is on my own journey to one of the Earth’s poles that I am writing this, thinking about our culturally divided world, wondering if duality is the inevitable destiny of our species, inseparable from the magnetism of life. Physics might say yes. So might the media landscape, where the most polarizing voices are elevated by algorithms, creating closed loops with the same currents of conversation. How will this ever attract change?

There are times when this world makes the iron in my blood feel molten. When I feel pulled toward polarization, I remind myself that it is all a ceaseless current, many strands that weave together into a field. I am more interested in creating a movement and a vision for the future that is so magnetic, many will want to join us. A future in which nature is our teacher, aligning our internal compasses with a map that is at times subtle and at others gloriously aglow.