In which I take a long digression on the significance of energy to women in particular, and then a further one to address the fraught topic of “Nazi rocket scientists”. Some folks find it difficult to accept that the USA employed Wernher von Braun, and I don’t say they’re wrong to feel this way ― but there is some context which desperately begs to be discussed.
Tag: a step farther out
ASFO 2021–05–29
This is the first ASFO show to have been archived, and was done by dialing in to the conference bridge (x1088) on the SDF VoIP system, also used for aNONradio OpenVoIP. I spent much of the time discussing the growth in energy use since 1700, why the movement toward a high–energy society is a good thing, and why it has relied up to the present on fossil fuels despite their obvious problems. I end with a cliffhanger, so tune in next time!
Supplementary Show“A Step Farther Out”
If you recall the Eames Office film “Powers of Ten” ― we humans are at the midpoint between the galaxies and the atomic nucleus. It’s a great place to be!
Saturdays, 19h UTC
Why would I start a new show, when I have trouble keeping up with the one I already have?
This is a completely different concept, and will be a completely different format (whatever the format ends up being), from Hear Now the Words. About all they have in common is my speaking voice. HNtW is the show in which I read stories written by other people. ASFO is the show in which I talk about what I think are interesting and worthwhile things to know and think about. That is going to involve atomic energy and space travel a great deal. As I see it, those are two defining features of human existence in the present age, which is the age of transition from planetary to cosmic existence. If we fail to think about them, and get them in the correct perspective, we may not make that transition successfully. And that is a thought too hideous, too sorrowful, to bear examination.
Continue reading ““A Step Farther Out””