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Websites created using Frontpage ExpressOriginally posted by Sailor Saturn:
<STRONG>You totally lost me there. But, if it's spam, then it must be a good thing.
I'm only slightly less lost now.Originally posted by Mr Sleep:
<STRONG>Websites created using Frontpage Express
Whee!We already have the technology to make ourselves less dependent on oil as a natural resource. Fuel cell, hybrid and electric cars exist that will travel at the speed and distance we desire of them. Unfortunately, do you know who owns all of those patents? ExxonMobil. Shell Oil. Ford. Do you think these companies want cars that will get 80-100 mpg on the market? Hell, no. They want to pad their own back pockets as much as possible and won't "invent" the right products until they have milked their existing technologies for as much cash as possible.Originally posted by Gwalchmai:
<STRONG>Seem obvious that we need some major work on inventing alternative fuel sources and ways to cheaply exploit the renewable fuels we already have (solar, wind, geothermal, etc.).</STRONG>
Dubya owes too many people who helped get him elected (including Al Gore who ran a horribly-managed campaign) and/or are cronies of his dad. Why do you think Dubya wants a missile shield which is illegal, unnecessary and has never been tested to be effective against a large-scale nuclear attack? Because his buddies in the defense industry want a government contract worth tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars to develop something the world doesn't need.<STRONG>Too bad our President is in the back pocket of the big oil corporations. </STRONG>
I agree that we appear to have the technology already to significantly lessen our dependence on oil, and that Big Business has a major role in preventing that technology becoming available to the public. But public inertia to new ideas is also a factor.Originally posted by HighLordDave:
<STRONG>We already have the technology to make ourselves less dependent on oil as a natural resource. Fuel cell, hybrid and electric cars exist that will travel at the speed and distance we desire of them. Unfortunately, do you know who owns all of those patents? ExxonMobil. Shell Oil. Ford. Do you think these companies want cars that will get 80-100 mpg on the market? Hell, no. They want to pad their own back pockets as much as possible and won't "invent" the right products until they have milked their existing technologies for as much cash as possible.<snip>
We have a lot of technology which could potentially be valuable to humankind, but it's controlled by corporations or individuals who can't make a buck off of it yet, or are making a buck of other technology the new inventions would supplant.</STRONG>
Do you remember the line in Men in Black where Kay and Edwards/Jay are sitting on the bench in the park and Kay is telling Edwards that he should join the MiBs? Kay says, "A person is smart. People are dumb."Originally posted by Gwalchmai:
<STRONG>But public inertia to new ideas is also a factor.</STRONG>
This is a beautiful post.Do you remember the line in Men in Black where Kay and Edwards/Jay are sitting on the bench in the park and Kay is telling Edwards that he should join the MiBs? Kay says, "A person is smart. People are dumb."
Public inertia is determined by corporations and governments. You and I may individually have thoughts and opinions, but we are lemmings following the path that someone else lays out for us. Sometimes it works out for us, sometimes it gets us in trouble.
Let's say that some scientist holds a press conference tomorrow telling the world that he's just invented a car that runs off of a combination of solar and electrical power, has an engine with no moving parts so it will require virtually no maintenance, has tires that will go 200,000 miles before needing replaced, and it will travel comfortably for 500 miles at 75 mph (unlimited range if the sun is out) before needing to re-charge.
How quickly will the public embrace this product? They won't. Daimler-Chrysler, FoMoCo, Toyota et al will go on the offensive and tell everyone how these vehicles won't meet consumer demands. The UAW will start screaming bloody murder about losing jobs. Businesses who prey off of auto travel (mechanics, tire companies, gas stations, etc.) will mount a fear campaign to supress the new products. Governmental representatives from the car states (Detriot, etc.) and the oil states (Texas, etc.) will come out against the new car because it will hurt their constitutents.
In short, the public opinion will be turned against a product that could benefit the world economically and environmentally because some old men will lose some money. And you know what? The public will buy it. Politicians and companies who spend billions of dollars per year on demographics and marketing know how to manipulate our collective desires and will shut out innovation and technological advances if it hurts them. And we will be too stupid to see that we are being manipulated.
The planet in Pegasus is a great discoveryOriginally posted by Xandax:
<STRONG>Well this is maybe not much of an invention, but more an discovery.
Seeing as "they've" (NASA) have discovered a planet outside our solar-system with an atmosphere (natrium IIRC) it would proberly be the greates discovery to find a planet with our kind of atomsphere.
Wich would be the first step to prove more of "our" kind of life in the universe.</STRONG>
It is estimated to have a mass 220 times of the earth, it's doing one lap around its' start in 3.5 earth-days (it's a damn fast planet ) IIRC scientists have detected sodium (Na) in the atmospere, and they are currently looking for signs of potassium (K). </STRONG>posted by Fable:
<STRONG>A kind of experience swapper: for one day, you would absorb the prevalent memories of another individual, while keeping your own memory and personality on top.
Great post, HLD, as are your others posts in this thread. Unfortunately, I think you are totally correctOriginally posted by HighLordDave:
<STRONG>Let's say that some scientist holds a press conference tomorrow telling the world that he's just invented a car that runs off of a combination of solar and electrical power, has an engine with no moving parts so it will require virtually no maintenance, has tires that will go 200,000 miles before needing replaced, and it will travel comfortably for 500 miles at 75 mph (unlimited range if the sun is out) before needing to re-charge.
How quickly will the public embrace this product? They won't. Daimler-Chrysler, FoMoCo, Toyota et al will go on the offensive and tell everyone how these vehicles won't meet consumer demands. The UAW will start screaming bloody murder about losing jobs. Businesses who prey off of auto travel (mechanics, tire companies, gas stations, etc.) will mount a fear campaign to supress the new products. Governmental representatives from the car states (Detriot, etc.) and the oil states (Texas, etc.) will come out against the new car because it will hurt their constitutents.
In short, the public opinion will be turned against a product that could benefit the world economically and environmentally because some old men will lose some money. And you know what? The public will buy it. Politicians and companies who spend billions of dollars per year on demographics and marketing know how to manipulate our collective desires and will shut out innovation and technological advances if it hurts them. And we will be too stupid to see that we are being manipulated.</STRONG>