Category Archives: History of technology

Necessity is the mother of inventors: my PhD lecture

Posted on December 15, 2017 by

The following is the traditional Lectio praecursoria a doctoral candidate in Finland gives to the audience before his/her PhD defence. This one is mine, delivered on 12th December 2017. Esteemed custos, esteemed opponent, ladies and gentlemen! You all are probably … Continue reading →

Posted in History of technology, Innovation, Scarcities and constraints | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Power and the (European) anti-nuclear power movement

Posted on November 14, 2017 by

This post contains some thoughts about the history of the anti-nuclear movement and in particular the European anti-nuclear movement as a struggle for power and empowerment; it’s posted here for convenience and as a reference, and as a caution against … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecomodernism, Energy, History of technology, Nuclear energy & weapons, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Confidence in 100% RE plans is poorly justified and may be dangerous

Posted on June 21, 2017 by

The recent publication of an unprecedented critique against the so-called “WWS” 100% renewable energy (RE) scenario has re-ignited the debate about the feasibility of renewable only energy scenarios in the United States and abroad. This is a long-overdue debate the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecomodernism, Energy, History of technology, Nuclear energy & weapons | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Two fallacies that explain A LOT about energy discussions

Posted on March 14, 2017 by

I’ve been following the energy discussions actively for a decade now. Despite some incremental improvements, the debate goes round and round much the same way as it did in 2007: everyone agrees in public that we need to quit fossil … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecomodernism, Energy, History of technology | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Stall warning for renewable energy?

Posted on February 21, 2017 by

A model that estimated the plateauing of nuclear and hydropower to within 20 percent of reality suggests that absent a technological breakthrough, the growth of new renewable energy – that is, wind and solar – will saturate and end when these new … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, History of technology | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Atomic mail rockets, and how monocausal predictions are particularly dangerous

Posted on January 17, 2017 by

The new, shining age of information delivery was briefly at hand on June 8th, 1959. A Regulus cruise missile – designed for delivering a nuclear warhead to a Soviet city or port – landed neatly at the naval base at … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecomodernism, History of technology, Nuclear energy & weapons | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Energy transitions: is everything different this time?

Posted on June 23, 2016 by

The debate about whether transition to low-carbon energy would be faster or slower than previous energy transitions somewhat misses the point. The real problem is whether this time everything is different and whether the low-carbon energy revolution will be complete … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecomodernism, Energy, History of technology | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments