Imagine never setting foot on land again — just drifting through thick clouds in a high-tech air blimp, orbiting above Venus or sailing on a massive artificial island at sea. The concept of floating civilizations sounds like a page from a sci-fi novel, but it’s being seriously considered by scientists and futurists. Still, for all the technological excitement, there’s one huge, unspoken factor: how would it affect us psychologically?

During a recent conversation, one participant brought up how even just imagining a floating city made them uneasy. “I was thinking they would be floating stationary,” they said, “but then I realized they’d probably be orbiting... That gave me a weird feeling.” This gut reaction reveals something profound: humans are, at our core, surface dwellers. We instinctively want solid ground beneath our feet.

Living in a floating structure — whether on a cloud above Venus or on a moving ocean platform — may cause cognitive dissonance. There's no true "home base." The idea of “home” as a fixed, physical place is deeply tied to our identity and comfort. When that disappears, so might our psychological grounding.

People who live on boats, for example, often dock regularly just to “touch land.” Nomadic lifestyles can be exciting, but most still crave a permanent address. As one person said, “Being on a never-ending cruise... that sounds a little scary.” There’s a reason why even ancient seafaring cultures, like the Polynesians, always sought out new islands to settle. Floating is fine — for a while. But we long for somewhere solid to return to.

So while we may develop the tech to float above hostile planets or build cities at sea, we’ll also need to design mental and emotional anchors — ways to help people feel rooted, even when there’s no ground in sight.

Until then, maybe we’ll keep our feet on Earth… or at least near the shore.