"A useful analogy is to see traditional societies as relying on instantaneous (or minimally delayed) and constantly replenished solar income, while modern civilization is withdrawing accumulated solar capital at rates that will exhaust it in a tiny fraction of the time that was needed to create it."

--

Source : Vaclav Smil (2012). “Energy: A Beginner's Guide”, p.80, Oneworld Publications

Vaclav Smil

#Civilization Quotes #Analogies Quotes #Tiny Quotes

“I actually am fairly uncomfortable about it, even if our firm stipulation was that they cannot tell us what to do. We are simply doing what we do anyways - securing software - and they have no say in the matter. I try to convince myself that our grant means a half of a cruise missile doesn't get built.”

Source : "U.S. Military Helps Fund Calgary Hacker". Interview with David Akin, www.theglobeandmail.com. April 06, 2003.
“Goodness thinks no ill Where no ill seems.”
“I don't think of myself as hot or cool or anything, just a dork.”
“True religion should be able to respond to the dark melodies, the faulty and hideous sounds that echo from the heart of men.”
“I love studying Ancient History and seeing how empires rise and fall, sowing the seeds of their own destruction.”
“We do not want to live in a theocracy. We should maintain that barrier and government has no business telling someone what they ought to believe or how they should conduct their private lives.”
“All these freshmen have come in here and worked hard from the beginning. I can't say enough good things about them. They were the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and they're confidant. They know they are the best. That doesn't mean they slack off. They work really hard. Now it's time to go out there and compete.”
“When the weather changes, nobody believes the laws of physics have changed. Similarly, I don't believe that when the stock market goes into terrible gyrations its rules have changed”

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