ExtraOrdinary Times - ExtraOrdinary Thoughts! Page 3

Steven Elswick, Publisher — ExtraOrdinary Technology

Deja Vue...
Here we go again!

Mired in an unpopular war... War with Iran... Gasoline rationing... $5 a gallon gasoline... A military draft... A Chinese takeover of Taiwan... Double-digit inflation and unemployment (Stagflation!)...

Its the ’70s on steroids! They say history tends to repeat itself, and today’s world is no exception. Many of our members are old enough to have seen today’s concerns highlighted above in their youth! These issues have inadvertently, and dramatically altered all of our lives.

In my case, an oil embargo in 1973 caused a shortage of petrochemicals, leading to a shutdown of the plastics factory I worked at. Unemployed in a recession with only a high school diploma, I was ripe pickin’s for local army recruiters and their bonuses. The prospect of a steady paycheck and a college education was alluring, but the bonus was the clincher... and my short military career started.

Who knows how our lives would be if “oil” did not have the influence it has today. I do not “regret” having served in the military. However, I am thankful that I served under Presidents that knew that carrying a big stick usually wielded more power than actually using it.

In the military, we spent a lot of time looking at potential scenarios and figuring out the proper response. These types of exercises are increasingly carried out by policy makers as well. The problem with these exercises is that they tend to “lock in” conventional thinking.

A Different Drummer...

Any response in these preparedness exercises must use currently existing technology. Thus it emphasizes maintaining the status quo and discourages radical “outside the box” thinking. While useful in developing day-to-day responses, it is quite evident that it is not adequate for the extraordinary challenges we face today... otherwise, history would not be repeating itself!

Many of the challenges we are facing today center about our addiction to cheap energy. Nikola Tesla addressed this in his world altering essay “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy” which appeared in Century Illustrated Magazine (June 1900). He addressed the relationship of humanity’s progress and energy. Tesla noted that there were three methods to increase human energy:

1. How to increase the human mass—the burning of atmospheric nitrogen
2. How to reduce the force retarding the human mass—the art of telautomatics
3. How to increase the force accelerating the human mass—the harnessing of the sun’s energy.

Tesla’s View of the Scientific Man...

The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result. He does not expect that his advanced ideas will be readily taken up. His work is like that of the planter—for the future. His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way. He lives and labors and hopes with the poet ....
From the: Problem Of Increasing Human Energy
Century Illustrated Magazine (June 1900)

In a unique manner, Tesla framed an eternal question... and then supplied a number of solutions... some of which we are just now coming to grips with. But then, Tesla seemed to always epitomize the “out of the box” thinker. For instance, by freeing himself of the constraints of conventional thought, Tesla was able to invent the three phase alternating current motor which played a critical role in the industrial revolution. It allowed power to be transported over vast distances with relatively low losses.

Too often, today’s young scientists are fearful of venturing too far out of the box. Peer pressure, fear of financial retribution (loss of jobs, grants etc) and even physical threats tend to dampen efforts to stray too far from the conventional wisdom. One of the goals