Fusion

If fision--the splitting of atoms to make power--came to being in the west, with it's years and years of practice in taking things apart and applying doubt and seeking proof methodically, then maybe fusion will come from the east, with their great well of belief?

I've believed for a while that to unlock fusion, which promises to all but solve the world's energy problems and likely a number of its social ones, scientists will have to apply methods and approaches they have learned outside of science. But it may even be a spiritualist of some sort applying science to belief.

To me it makes perfect sense that to learn how to bring two particles together in an essential way, one will have to know volumes about attraction, love, magnetism, etc.

For this reason I believe it may take a methodology past reason and the critical method. And maybe even a method past methodology. They'll have to pay their scientific dues, no doubt, but they'll throw something in at the last minute, for fun--whatever--and bingo.

Then there's also the matter of getting the world ready to wield that much power. As it's likely that fusion will be generated on a distributed grid, if there are people still more interested in settling old grudges or messing with others than in taking care of the business of improving/living their own life, things will get ugly quick. I imagine the bombs will make fertilizer bombs look like mud pies.

I think that that is what the oil world order is preparing us for--a world where energy is cheap and plentiful. Where literally, everyone is powerful.

So what's to learn?

Well, those of us that are already wealthy and still hungry will probably have to learn to relax and enjoy what we have. If we were any more powerful in the west, we'd probably have consumed the entire rainforest and each have our own cheapo plane, helicopter, car, boat, etc. It wouldn't need to be the exhaust that got us in trouble--it could easily be the packaging and materials needed to make and replace them all.

I believe we need to learn to a) relax and enjoy what we have--understand the difference between being rich and feeling rich--(this doesn't mean that stop, by the way, just that we go for what we want withouth regard to finances or economics--step out on faith again and again), which leads naturally to.. b) create and consume with faith--so that we don't end up with loads of shoddy junk in landfills. So that we are employed making things we care about. So that we're happy. So that we get the damn couch and forget about couces for the rest of our lives, not jjust four years. We feel so guilty about creation and consumption that we find it hard to produce and buy what we really, really want--which is usually high quality goods/services/content. The most used line: I can't afford it. In my fuzzy economics, if people afforded what they really wanted, they a) wouldn't have so much money to buy the stuff they will throw out in a year and a half when they grow a bit and b) wouldn't care or want to spend the time looking for that junk. This is beyond fashion to style. Are you really going to wear those in 5 years? I know once I started making what I really, really wanted (and I needed some very expensive tools to do so), my time became really valuable to me. And mediocre movies, fashionable pants, and the link became really uninteresting. I still wanted beautiful clothes and surroundings but I was find to either make due or go all in for something I believed in.

Plus--the biggest problem in my opinion--getting us all there. If we all start out buying (and making) the cheap stuff and had to work our way up like we do with couches or magazines or shoes, we'll have a world of garbage left behind. If we find a way to build and buy high quality, repairable and upgradeable goods, services, content we might have a chance. Make and buy fewer, better things. (And a bit of re-use, reduce recycle). Assumming we learn how to share. And assumming we're also spending our time doing what we really, really want. And riding our bikes to work when we want to. And living close enough to do so when we want to. Etc.

As for the other side--it's really not my place to say what the rest of the world needs. But I imagine the temptations of new money and power are as significant as those of old. (Honestly, I'm ready for the challenges of either). I think that the reason we over here like to go visit "over there" and folks over there seem as interested in working "over here" is that we have a lot to learn from each other about living and working. And we're each led by what interests us. Inspires us.

One thing that commerce does wonderfully is bring the world together and start a discussion. What it's about is up to the people. The process often looks like making hot dogs, but I think it yields t-bones.

We're literally sewing the world back together. I, for one, am happy that we have everything out on the table. I feel that's progress.