When old ideas can save the future
“Americans have different ways of saying things. They say “elevator”, we say “lift”… they say “President”, we say “stupid psychopathic git.” Alexai Sayles, a British comedian, actor and author
The United States will have a new President soon, so we can rest easy about that. Unfortunately, even with new leadership we’ll be facing most of the same old problems:
- Scary economy
- Bad healthcare
- …
- How to interact with the Middle East
- Looming Energy Crises
Wouldn’t it be nice to know how it all turns out, at least so you could rest easy? Well, I was turned on to a Discovery Channel docu-drama series the other day that boldy makes predictions about what life will be like here on Earth 50 years in the future.
Ok, so I didn’t care for The Body, only because I hope that we all enjoy universal healthcare 50 years hence and that medical insurance dies a quick, and painful, death. The City was really fun, but the bit that caught my eye was The World - and yes, that one’s cheesy too.
The plot of The World revolves around two scientists striving to create an energy efficient solar panel to ease the planet’s imminent energy wars (they succeed - mark one for the geeks) and they do it all atop a station on the Space Elevator.
Which reminded me 1) that I wrote an entire scientific article about Space Elevators before, which I’m now making available, and 2) that old ideas applied to new situations can sometimes be a powerful and much simpler way to solve a problem.
The article was written with the cooperation of the kind people at LiftPort.
Two quotes come to mind, one puts my thoughts into words very succintly:
“The vast majority of new ideas are not original but are adapted from something else. Most great ideas are really combinations of other ideas.” Paul Sloane
and the not to be ignored
“If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.” Albert Einstein
Happy thinking!