To explain how that relates to your point re: stages. The stage of our perception isn't stable. When we started voyaging on ships, that changed it. We went to orbit, whew boy. Today, maybe our terminally-online presence is changing our notions of distance and "here-ness". These sorts of changes can often be a trigger when it comes to these perceptual shifts, as people grow up with a somewhat larger universe than their great grandsires.