Thoughts on 2012

[UndercoverElephant]

I've also been reading the Quantum science book recommended by Lidwig and its clear that scientists don't really have a clue what's going on. Like, they have 12 theories or such of reality and all are currently as valid as each other. So, maybe a new energy source has been with us all along, and has only needed our science and technology to catch up and exploit it.

Indeed... Until my late 20s, when I started reading about science again, I didn't realise how little we know. But a lot of technicians are convinced that knowing how things work, or even just knowing that they work, is the same as knowing why they work.

You have to be careful here. Scientists know a great deal about some aspects of quantum theory, and nothing at all about others. In short, they understand the physics but they don't understand the metaphysics, and a lot of scientists also don't have an especially good grasp of how to distinguish between the two. Whether or not there are some "hidden secrets" to the quantum world rather depends on what sort of secrets you are talking about. If it's odd forms of causality (some of the sorts of things that paranormalists believe in, but not all) then this is entirely possible. But hidden forms of energy? That's more on the science side of things than the metaphysics side. Energy has to come from somewhere, and it is not clear where this secret energy could come from. It's not impossible, but I'm not expecting it either.

Ancient civilisations knew about oil but never used it in any advanced way. They could also have easily built the mechanical clock and other machines but never did. I've often wondered why.

There's a theory that the pyramids were power plants :\ I have no idea how seriously to take the idea. I intend to read some more before drawing any conclusions. What I've read so far, while I don't understand much of it, is written by people who at least sound as though they know what they're talking about.

It's nonsense. The Pyramids were built as monuments to their creators, as tombs, and they almost certainly had some sort of astronomical significance to do with spirits being reborn. But power plants? I don't think so. Not in any normal, physical sort of sense.

The pyramids rightly take all the attention, but I personally find The Sphinx even more of a curiousity.

[jb]

Why would it mean financial losses for them?
If they generate electricity for free, with no carbon emissions, they can sell it to the grid for 5p per kwh.
Average usage is what, 30gw?
Thats £13bn in pure profit, just from the UK

Not if BP owns it, it can simply refuse to sell the technology, and maintain ownership of all of the generators.

Or it could sell shoe box sized ones that power homes.
Whatever.
The problem is, if 10 companies all have this technology, the first to market it wins.
The advantage of a price fixing cartel exists primarily in being outside it, or being inside and cheating

I am assume financial losses since producing electricity at no cost would result in it's value changing which would not only devalue its' price/kWh but also create a massive disruption in the energy market. Another issue would be the capital outlays required to setup new energy power plants.
I stand by my earlier suggestion - that it would make economic sense (to oil companies) to keep using up the oil to completion than convert to another form of energy production, even if it was available now.

[PhilSage]

Ancient civilisations knew about oil but never used it in any advanced way. They could also have easily built the mechanical clock and other machines but never did. I've often wondered why.

Common misconception that the ancients were primitive in their use of mechanics. The Greeks were anything but, having used steam power, though mainly for hurling projectiles at enemies. They also made geared water clocks. By Roman times we have artefacts such as this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

As to why they didn't use oil as an energy source; well they had no qualms about using other people in the way we use domestic appliances and machinery. (And perhaps they didn't fancy fighting away from home in Arabia, Persia and Mesopotamia to get it.)

[RenewableCandy]

I've been to Tesla's house in Zagreb. I wish I'd looked around me a bit more carefully

[Ludwig]

Ancient civilisations knew about oil but never used it in any advanced way. They could also have easily built the mechanical clock and other machines but never did. I've often wondered why.

I don't disagree with your post, but I didn't write that, it was Snail!!

[Ludwig]

Energy has to come from somewhere, and it is not clear where this secret energy could come from. It's not impossible, but I'm not expecting it either.

Speculation is that it has something to do with zero point radiation. Something about quantum indeterminacy and the waveforms of particles becoming smeared out in space and time as their momentum gets close to zero. I don't claim to know anything about it, but it sounds interesting.

[PhilSage]

Ancient civilisations knew about oil but never used it in any advanced way. They could also have easily built the mechanical clock and other machines but never did. I've often wondered why.

I don't disagree with your post, but I didn't write that, it was Snail!!

Sorry!

[JavaScriptDonkey]

Thank you all for a wonderful 20 minutes. I'd quite forgotten how little many of you actually know about physics.

When philosophers who can barely count their fingers without help start whittering on about Quantum Theory as if they actually undrstood any of it you know that hilarity will ensue.

At least start on a firm footing.

[UndercoverElephant]

Energy has to come from somewhere, and it is not clear where this secret energy could come from. It's not impossible, but I'm not expecting it either.

Speculation is that it has something to do with zero point radiation.

That's New Age speculation, nothing to do with science.

1: Something about..

Isn't everything?

2: quantum indeterminacy and the waveforms of particles becoming smeared out in space and time as their momentum gets close to zero.

That's a big topic.

I don't claim to know anything about it, but it sounds interesting.

It's new age religion, which gets mixed up with science in ways which aren't always helpful. The only thing about quantum mechanics which isn't interesting is the mathematics. Unless you happen to like mathematics for the hell of it.

I don't think we can rely on The Universe to get us out of this one. It's already done It's Best to help. We're in control down here and we have to sort it out.

An aside: If It decided to intervene to provide with loads of free energy, what do you think humanity would do with it?

[Ludwig]

Thank you all for a wonderful 20 minutes. I'd quite forgotten how little many of you actually know about physics.

When philosophers who can barely count their fingers without help start whittering on about Quantum Theory as if they actually undrstood any of it you know that hilarity will ensue.

At least start on a firm footing.

Regardless of what any of us knows about physics, I have yet to read a post by you that represents you as anything other than a rather unpleasant human being.

[JavaScriptDonkey]

The only thing about quantum mechanics which isn't interesting is the mathematics. Unless you happen to like mathematics for the hell of it.

Quantum Mechanics without mathematics is nothing. It is only through mathematics that we can make quantum predictions that have any validity. Without an understanding of the maths you (or I) can't hope to have any understanding of QM at all.

Just for fun I'm currently battling with Pauli and having to stumble over terms like 'antisymmetric rank-two tensor'. I have no idea what that is but I do know that if I want to get close to understanding QM I'll have to find out first.

[JavaScriptDonkey]

Regardless of what any of us knows about physics, I have yet to read a post by you that represents you as anything other than a rather unpleasant human being.

Perhaps you should spend less time forming an opinion of me based on the restricted information available to you and more time studying maths or physics? Then you'd actually know what you were talking about and wouldn't have to care what I said.

But you won't. You'll decide that your Philosphy course taught you all you ever needed to know about Quantum Mechanics.

'Heat can't go from a hotter to a notter'

[Ludwig]

It's new age religion, which gets mixed up with science in ways which aren't always helpful. The only thing about quantum mechanics which isn't interesting is the mathematics. Unless you happen to like mathematics for the hell of it.

Insecure, second-rate scientists who feel they have something to prove often argue that if you don't know the mathematics you are in no position to speculate on their metaphysical meaning.

But ask them what their metaphysical interpretation is, and guess what, they never have one.

If, as JSD claims, an understanding of the equations of quantum mechanics would reveal my interpretation as wrong, it's rather puzzling that that should apply to me, but not to the man who wrote the equations in the first place. I can only assume that JSD isn't aware of Schroedinger's interpretation of his own science.

I don't think we can rely on The Universe to get us out of this one. It's already done It's Best to help. We're in control down here and we have to sort it out.

I'm not relying on anything, I'm interested in the subject.

Tesla claimed to have invented antigravity propulsion, and this claim is more interesting coming from him than from someone down the pub. If it was a lie, so be it, but I believe you would have to be very certain to dismiss it out of hand.

We know Tesla knew something that hasn't been revealed because his work is still classified. Some have argued that there is circumstantial evidence as to what sort of thing it was.

An aside: If It decided to intervene to provide with loads of free energy, what do you think humanity would do with it?

Probably destroy itself, sooner or later.

[Ludwig]

Regardless of what any of us knows about physics, I have yet to read a post by you that represents you as anything other than a rather unpleasant human being.

Perhaps you should spend less time forming an opinion of me based on the restricted information available to you and more time studying maths or physics?

Piss off, troll.

[Lord Beria3]

http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/worse-2008/67136

Back on the subject of 2012...

One of the most important things we need to track is simply untrackable, and that is market perception. When faith in a faith-based money system vanishes, the game is pretty much over.

If you have been reading my work (or anyone else's) with a decent macro view, you likely lost your faith in the system a while ago and marvel that it can continue along for another moment, let alone all the years it has been creaking towards its eventual date with reality. But along it creaks, day after day, week after week, and month after month, threatening to wear down the observant and vigilant before finally letting go.

2012 promises to be an interesting year, with more than $10 trillion in funding and rollover financing required to keep the developed world floating along. But where will that funding come from? The lesson from defunct economies is “not internally!” And if China’s recent slowdowns and projections of an even more lackluster 2012 come true, then we might also scratch a few external sources off the list as well.

I think that 2012 might be the year that faith in the system finally cracks among a critical mass of big financial players and a mad rush into hard assets and out of paper assets begins.