Wow Bab, you see that glass half empty! I guess I have always looked at things from the other side of the hallway. If you believe that cold fusion is for real then why would you not think that it will become the ultimate free energy source from now to essentially forever? Nickel is available in great quantities and so is water for hydrogen. And to make matters even better, the amount of each consumed appears to be tiny.
Also, what would make you so confident that there is no enormous store of new devices, etc. that will be discovered as time progresses? I think that you would agree that a great deal of progress has been made during the last 50 years. Do you think the folks of 50 years ago would have anticipated what we have developed up to this time? It is no easy task to visualize entirely new concepts that did not exist before. You mention phosphorus as an example of something that is running out. I admit I know very little about the material or where it is mined or otherwise obtained. Does sea water contain the used material? It does not actually disappear as far as I know, so it must be capable of reclamation by some technique. You can bet that we will find a way to recover the amount needed and then figure a way to keep it coming as required far into the future. This will occur because it must occur. People have conquered every environment that we have faced perhaps beginning with the lucky guy that discovered that sharp rocks can cut animal flesh and hide. Clothes allow us to live in environments that would be lethal had they not been invented. We learned to plant food to ensure a good supply most of the time instead of being at the mercy of the forests. Cars were invented so that we could escape the local region and travel great distances for work or pleasure at good speeds. As you can see, there is an endless list of developments. I do not think that the end is in sight and anyone who suggests otherwise should review the historical record. Bab, what do you anticipate will be the next electronic device that everyone can not live without? I hate to say it, but I have no idea at the moment, but you can bet there will be one soon. Recently, new gadgets have consisted of combinations of existing ones such as cameras placed into cellular radios or GPS within. I think it might be time for another entirely new toy and maybe it would be a good idea to start thinking along that line. Consider the new array of tricks that can be had when LENR is associated with the existing devices of today. I can imagine a lot of inventing. Things do go astray on occasions as you point out. Wars happen which is totally insane in my opinion. Volcano's erupt, the earth quakes, and maybe some day an asteroid will be a big problem. Who knows if one day we will divert that nasty rock away from the Earth, but I suspect this will come to pass. It is possible that a nearby super nova will erupt and we will be history, but why worry at this time? I feel that the biggest worry facing us in the near term is the exploding population on the planet. This problem must be solved some way. Nature has its way of dealing with over population, but lets hope that we get to choose a more humane process. When I depart from this world one of my biggest disappointments will be not getting to see all of the marvels that will arrive with the future. Someone needs to push LENR development along faster so that at least I get to see that one come to fruition. Too many years have already slipped by with nothing but electricity with which to heat my home! Time to light a fire under someone! Dave -----Original Message----- From: David L Babcock <[email protected]> To: vortex-l <[email protected]> Sent: Tue, Dec 18, 2012 10:21 pm Subject: [Vo]:Hell yes I actually believe there are problems we can't solve... Sometimes things go wrong and they are just problems, answers are found, things improve. And sometimes it's a dilemma, an answer, ANY answer, is not possible, and decline/catastrophe/bad stuff is inevitable. The seemingly inevitable upward sweep of history is a transient blip, a tiny moment in the sweep of time, brought about by the discovery of the wonder of nearly free energy. Now the oil is no longer cheap and the whole structure built on it will subside or even collapse, later or sooner. Cold Fusion -I think it's real- will slow this down, probably reverse the decline for awhile, but the mindset that we learned on the way up (that all we find is ours to exploit, without limit) will drive us back all the way down. Because a lot of things are running out, not just oil. This is a dilemma. The only possible answers involve changing human nature. Don't hold your breath. Most of the radical new discoveries of the Industrial Revolution were the results of cheap energy, made possible by cheap energy, and they indeed came along "every few years", easy pickings. This does not argue for the existence of an inevitable stream of discoveries (guaranteed by some benevolent God?) that will continue the great upward march forever. Re many things running out, I agree that we are starting to learn how to work around looming shortages in various critical materials, but many of these are going to prove hopelessly expensive to implement. I offer phosphorus as an example: where do you find a replacement for that, feeding 7 billion people, when the mines run out? Ol' Bab, who is a pessimist. On 12/18/2012 12:59 AM, David Roberson wrote: ... Does anyone in this list actually believe that humanity is not capable of inventing the way out of it's problems? If you are correct, then this will be the first time in human history that it has come true. I chuckle at the concept that there are no new technologies that are awaiting that serendipitous discovery that comes along every few years out of the blue. You and I do not know what it is at the moment, but it will come around like clockwork. ... Dave
