Frederick Sparber wrote:
While Jed is expounding on how it can't be done. (Without his Cold
Fusion Fantasy).
I said nothing about the 250 mpg automobile. Anyone can see how that
can be built. Any automobile maker could have produced a 250 mpg
plug-in car 30 years ago. Strictly from a technical perspective, it
resembles the development of the Internet: it is a straightforward,
predictable, incremental improvement to existing technology. Advanced
automobiles have not been developed because of opposition from
automobile executives, fossil fuel companies and government leaders,
and because the public has never demanded them.
Contrary to some modern mythology, the Internet was not a major
breakthrough. The people who invented it were brilliant, but not
geniuses. They eschewed originality. Like the IBM engineers who first
assembled the PC, they selected off-the-shelf equipment that could be
reprogrammed cheaply. (Of course that was brilliant, and just the
right thing to do.) Any Telcom engineer in the 1970s could understand
what they were up to, even though very few could have done such a
good job. Actually, one of the most outstanding and inspired aspects
of the Internet was in the political leadership. A small number of
legislators and government officials, led by Al Gore, saw to it that
the project was funded and carried out. Gore was widely ridiculed for
saying that he "invented the Internet." There were two problems with
this ridicule:
1. He never said "invent." he said: ""During my service in the United
States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet."
2. That statement is completely correct in every respect. He played a
leading role in the development, just as highway commissioner plays a
leading role in designing and pushing through funds for a new bridge.
If any politician ever pushes through funding for cold fusion, he
will have every right to say "I took the initiative in creating cold
fusion." In a sense, his role will be as vital as the researchers'
roles, although of course they will do more work and they will be
irreplaceable, whereas any politician can step into this role. You
need at least one politician (or corporate CEO, or philanthropist)
plus ~100 researchers to develop cold fusion. Any politician with
power and guts will do, but it matters a great deal which group of
100 researchers you select.
In a sense, the politician would an "accidental hero" like a
bystander who notices a fire and calls 911. Anyone could call 911,
and most people would, but the person who actually notices and makes
the call gets the credit. The politician's role also resembles my
role as librarian at LENR-CANR.org, Any fool could do what I do, but
I happen to be the only fool available. (The actual work is not a bit
difficult; any intelligent high school kid could do it. My kids
helped when they were in high school.) Insofar as LENR-CANR performs
a vital service, I get the credit for it. If it ever helps to trigger
widespread interest in the field, and funding, I get the credit for
that. For jobs like this, as Woody Allen put it, "80 percent of
success is just showing up."
- Jed
- Re: Alt-NRG X Prizes ? Jed Rothwell
-
