If anyone knows a better place to pose tough questions about real complex systems, please let me know. I hate the feeling that my way of questioning things is too hard to follow. But, hey, let me try another! Lots of people think there's a deep misunderstanding about reality demonstrated by global warming, and the way economic development (and its way of multiplying 'good') is overwhelming the earth. It seems to demonstrate an 'impractical' world view and design model, and now there's a broad move to do something to fix it. It appears from the details, however, that the fix has the same problem as the problem, a fatal misunderstanding of what you can get from resources at the limits.
The consensus response to global warming relies on reducing the impacts of economic growth by improving the efficiency of economic growth! That would appear to be a direct violation of the 2nd law of thermodynamics (prohibiting unbounded efficiency). You can see the dilemma clearly in the global aggregate efficiency curves. World economic energy use efficiency is improving at half the rate the economies are growing, with successive improvements in reducing waste *not* tending to zero. http://www.synapse9.com/issues/GroEfficiency40.ppt Perhaps no one will take me up on it, (because it involves developing a physics of real categories, and using natural language to refer to them, and so linking the math world to the one ordinary people ordinarily talk about) but I'd offer a small $10 prize for a valid proof of the above assertion that could be readily understood with common knowledge. If folks don't think being easily understood is important, then I'll offer $5 for any valid proof at all. And, of course..., if there simply is no proof at all, well then I can leave my $15 to collect interest and multiply real value forever!! :-) Phil Henshaw ¸¸¸¸.·´ ¯ `·.¸¸¸¸ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 680 Ft. Washington Ave NY NY 10040 tel: 212-795-4844 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] explorations: www.synapse9.com <http://www.synapse9.com/>
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