Just like the body is what it eats, the mind is what it experiences. This is a truth with vast and grave implications when it comes to the types of entertainment we invest our time in. Entertainment is used as a social programming tool. When entertained, the mind is open and relaxed, easy to infiltrate.
Nobody can deny that we’ve entered a new era of technological progress. The so-called Digital Revolution is but the latest in a series of intellectual milestones that started with the Industrial Revolution. However, there’s something special about this era: exponential development of technology & methodology.
The human need for belonging and confirmation has not disappeared. Consumerism is an economic tool that is capitalizing on this need. It’s the wrong cure for something that isn’t even a problem. And it’s proving to be increasingly costly for the future of our ecosystem and thus, our quality of life.
Mentatul Monthly Focus
March 2019 Edition
– Energy –
Fusion is the holy grail of energy generation. It’s clean and the necessary fuel, hydrogen, is literally everywhere. Unfortunately, replicating the Sun’s mastery of fusion isn’t exactly a piece of cake.
1. The largest investment our species has banked on fusion is using a technology called tokamak. Unfortunately, the experiment called ITER is not doing very well.
2. Can we get lucky with the other type of fusion reactor, the stellarator? There’s good news about Wendelstein 7-X.
3. How can supercomputing help us?
4. Is clean(er) fission energy possible? Is Thorium worth it?
5. Renewable energy trends for 2019.
My readers know all too well that I’m no fan of capitalism. Throughout the past years I’ve attacked several attributes of this economic system (consumerism, the stock market, income inequality). This year, I’m about to step it up a notch, going into how capitalism has facilitated the slow and insidious rotting of most democratic countries. I intend to write about how a broken economic system can drag down education and create immeasurable suffering on a planetary scale, most of which is hidden from sight by the mainstream media so that the machine can keep marching.
But this doesn’t mean that I lack appreciation towards the enormous benefits that have burst from the minds of countless entrepreneurs who, thanks to a free market, succeeded in advancing our culture and civilization. After all, I write these words using capitalist products!
Capitalism is just another system that evolved from others before it. Perhaps it’s not the fairest, but it’s definitely more efficient than some that existed before. The gradual development of economic systems that has given birth to capitalism also implies that capitalism will not be the last economic system. And that’s precisely why I’m writing about its flaws. It’s not because I hate it, it’s because there are things that I believe can be improved.
Mentatul Monthly Focus
February 2019 Edition
– The Environment –
1. Nine years after such information was widely available, I finally got to understand just how insanely terrible sea shipping is for our planet. Consider that a single massive cargo ship puts out more cancer and asthma-causing pollutants than 50 million cars.
2. A 23.8 meters high wave was recorded in the Southern hemisphere. For reference, that’s about as high as a 6-stories building.
3. Ocean heat buildup is a major problem, one that is seriously underestimated.
4. In November 2016, the Environment Ministry of Japan warned that the country will produce 800,000 tons of solar waste by 2040, and it can’t yet handle those volumes. That same year, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimated that there were already 250,000 metric tons of solar panel waste worldwide and that this number would grow to 78 million by 2050.
5. Is global warming worrying you? Do you think we’ve run out of time? Well, here’s some good news. If we, as a species, would for once work together, we could actually achieve negative carbon emissions.
Among all the different ways we currently can produce electricity, harnessing the power of the sun is the cleanest. The efficiency of solar panels has increased during the past decade, following solid research investments in renewable energy sources. Even though the installation of solar panels can take up vast amounts of space, this can be done in areas where there is not so much life to disturb, such as deserts.
Did you know that by covering less than 2% of the Great Saharan Desert with solar panels we can meet the energy consumptions needs of the entire planet?
But the world’s energy needs will continue to increase. In the same time, we’re witnessing worsening global catastrophes due to global warming, a situation we’ve brought upon ourselves. We need to think big. Thanks to advances in mass manufacturing, we can think big. And that’s exactly what I invite you to do.
A week ago, Mentatul celebrated its third birthday. I’m happy with what I’ve achieved so far with this website. A collection of meaningful articles is beginning to coalesce into a greater work, which is still far from completion.
I hardly put any effort into advertising this website. As a matter of fact, I quite enjoy maintaining a low profile. I know that most of what I write is not exactly mainstream. Sometimes, it’s not even easily readable.
I made mistakes, I learned and will continue to learn… albeit at a slower pace. I’m taking a break from intensive writing on Mentatul, since I have other writing and family duties that absorb a lot of my time. Of course, should my millions of readers think otherwise, please feel free to donate and change my mind :D.
This change is meant to give me more energy to focus on the most important things I wish to have here, which are the bi-monthly analysis articles.
Yes, there are people out there who think the Earth is flat. And they’re having conventions:
Besides the absolutely dumb idea of a flat Earth and the dismissal of pretty much everything produced by the space program of a dozen countries, there’s something really interesting going on here. The flat Earther community is a really interesting case study when it comes to challenging the idea that “the Internet will make us smarter”.
It also shows a worrying connection between populism and disbelief in science. I’m all for emotions, but to demolish science in such a way brings thoughts of dystopia to my mind.
If one would be to chronicle the history of illegal or unfair use of economic practices, one would probably need to fill ten tomes of at least a thousand pages each. From rich to poor, almost everybody has, at least once, suffered due to our misshapen financial system.
There are many reasons for this, such as perfectly healthy and natural human greed. The problem is that greed and other evolutionary adaptations have been allowed to spiral out of control by a broken educational system. Insufficient education allows profit-seeking entities to exploit evolutionary weaknesses. They profit by making individuals invest into items and activities of no real value (no increase in happiness and no profit for the individuals or their families).
What I advocate is ethical everything. The implementation of such a system concerns the fusion between an ever-evolving ethical framework and a super-fragmented decentralized financial system. Let’s see what these terms mean.
You’re 102 years old. You still want and can work. You have no disease, your mind is sharp and brings joy to those around. However, the industrialized healthcare system and society has other plans. You’re costly to keep under permanent supervision, as if you even want to be constantly watched. So, whether you like it or not, you must accept round-the-clock care or move to a nursing home. This happened to David Goodall. Thanks to Swiss laws, however, he could die on his own accord.
Euthanasia is a heavily debated topic. Many people have sought the right to end their life. Check what Terry Pratchett (suffering from Alzheimer’s) had to say about it. Pro-life associations rushed to condemn BBC for broadcasting Pratchett’s statement, accusing BBC of imbalanced reporting.
Light has been observed to move in the fourth dimension. So, does that mean that scientists have observed the dimension of time? Nope. Like many of these exotic mathematical discoveries, it’s a virtual fourth dimension. Isn’t it lovely how humans know to over-complicate things?
Important: this is both a story and a practical list. Practical elements will be usually highlighted in such paragraphs. Although certain conclusions we drew from our experiences may seem like advice, these should not be interpreted as such. These are our experiences and our learnings that we entrust you with, so that you may enrich your knowledge based on this and many other sources of information. May our journey entertain and serve you.
Ever since Rune was born, I knew that one day I’m going to write this story. The only unknown was when and how to do it. Finally, I have arrived at the right time and, along with it, also came the vision of how I should go about writing this.
I would like to entertain you while in the same time share with you some of the things we’ve learned about one of the best places in the world when it comes to childbirth. Sweden has one of the lowest infant mortality rates, but that’s a meaningless statistic compared to what I’m about to tell you. Here’s a little spoiler: Sweden may be great when it comes to childbirth, but things may get complicated soon after the child is born.
Just like the body is what it eats, the mind is what it experiences. This is a truth with vast and grave implications when it comes to the types of entertainment we invest our time in. Entertainment is used as a social programming tool. When entertained, the mind is open and relaxed, easy to infiltrate.
Nobody can deny that we’ve entered a new era of technological progress. The so-called Digital Revolution is but the latest in a series of intellectual milestones that started with the Industrial Revolution. However, there’s something special about this era: exponential development of technology & methodology.
The human need for belonging and confirmation has not disappeared. Consumerism is an economic tool that is capitalizing on this need. It’s the wrong cure for something that isn’t even a problem. And it’s proving to be increasingly costly for the future of our ecosystem and thus, our quality of life.
