Excuse me while I poach an idea from one of the many excellent blogs I subscribe to. A quote came through on my Google Reader last night and I thought it really rang true. As such I wanted to share it here and pick your brain a bit:
“Polymaths possess something that monomaths do not. Time and again, innovations come from a fresh eye or from another discipline. Most scientists devote their careers to solving the everyday problems in their specialism. Everyone knows what they are and it takes ingenuity and perseverance to crack them. But breakthroughs—the sort of idea that opens up whole sets of new problems—often come from other fields. The work in the early 20th century that showed how nerves work and, later, how DNA is structured originally came from a marriage of physics and biology.” – Edward Carr, The Last Days of the Polymath
On a personal note…
Edward Carr’s statement hit home with me because I am not what you’d call an expert when it comes to nuclear energy—in fact I’m nothing of the sort. I’m merely a web designer who loves ancient history, who happens to realize that nuclear power is the lynchpin to our energy infrastructure and continued success as a civilization. Practically everything I know about nuclear energy comes from Jack, who I’ve known for about a decade now, and more recently from following the blogs of many other nukes. Outside of that, I must confess to being nothing more than a novice.
Now I must admit it is not without trepidation that I enter into a realm where I am both technically and technologically unaware. All fears aside, I’m here to contribute where I can without (hopefully) overstepping my bounds; but I’m also here to offer a fresh perspective. I’d like to think the quote above validates my efforts instead of merely justifying my folly. That said, I think there is much that can be gained from people who are not so closely intertwined with the field. As long as there is a passion to think critically, a desire to help spread the message, and a will to challenge the experts to attack problems differently, then the sum total of the nuclear industry stands to benefit.
Image Credit
Motion gears -team force image courtesy of Flickr user ralphbijker published under the CC license.
What light through yonder window………. image courtesy of Flickr user skitzitilby published under the CC license.
8 Comments
I wouldn’t be too concerned about your abilities to understand nuclear technology.
I have written and said on many occasions that the technology and engineering behind nuclear fission is actually a good deal more simple than most people assume. In fact just about all aspects of the field are accessible, and well within the capabilities of a advanced high school student, or a general science collage student’s grasp. This is also true of most other energy technologies, at least on an empirical bases. How anyone can not look at these fields more than superficially and not come to the same conclusions I have, is hard for me to understand. And indeed much of what I see in the way of objections clearly shows that those making them have not examined these things in any depth at all.
My education and employment background, while certainly in science and technology, were far removed from the nuclear field, yet within no more than a few weeks of study, I was able to see that most of the arguments used against nuclear were false, as were those in favor of renewables. I may not have a degree in power engineering, but the fundamental natural laws that govern the conversion and trafficking in energy that I learned as a chemistry undergraduate were more than adequate to draw a firm conclusion.
At any rate the fight for nuclear energy is not technical – it is political, and it is in that arena that the battle will be won or lost.
@DV82XL, I definitely plan on furthering my personal learning when it comes to all phases of nuclear energy—both from a technical and political standpoint.
I share your feelings on being dumbfounded that more people do not clearly see the merits of nuclear energy as a complete power source when compared to all the alternatives. However, instead of feeling perplexed and disillusioned I am trying to think more about what can be done to better communicate (visually, verbally, economically, and technologically) the merits of nuclear power.
Effectively communicating the importance of nuclear energy and gaining mass support is exactly the kind of breakthrough that the industry needs, and as Carr implies, it is going to take an outsider to put it all into perspective. I relate to this quest as well, as an artist working to bring positive attention to nuclear energy, I think 3rd party “communicators” are exactly what nuclear needs right now.
It is important that the engineers stay focused on developing and implementing energy technologies, rather than being caught up in pubic relations. Let the Nukes do their job, and let other folks like us deal with the lack of understanding among the public (note: there are a few folks who effectively cross this boundary, like Jack and Rod, but thats a whole other conversation).
And, by the way, I think you are doing a great job of education & outreach over at Nuclear Fissionary! The articles you all are coming with are effective educational tools for folks of all ages and backgrounds, and that it the kind of thing that really will change public perceptions.
@Suzy, in some ways I feel “people like us”, as you say, are in a good position to deal with people and their lack of understanding if only because we are closer to it. I’m certain there are plenty of things we don’t know about nuclear energy and that gives us common ground with ill-informed masses. We just need to focus on weighing and measuring what the gaps are and figure out a clever way to close said gaps.
That said Suzy, you are doing a tremendous job with your artwork and breathing some much needed fresh air into this whole foray (sorry for the cliché).
Don’t be intimidated. You are communicating better than narrow experts communicate.
By the way, I don’t consider myself to be a narrow expert. Yes, I spent years in nuclear, but I also spent years in geothermal and some time on pollution control for gas turbines and coal plants. I wrote a database to collect and assess gas pipeline safety information. I studied types of accelerated age-testing for dielectrics for high voltage service and….
In other words, I’ve been all over the place in terms of utility projects.
Nuclear is just one of the utility subjects I have been involved with. I worked on a lot of different power technologies at various times. I DECIDED that nuclear was our best hope for the future. I hope my writing reflects that.
Nuclear Fissionary is doing a great job. Keep it up!
Some time ago Rod linked to a story, that I can’t find right now, about a spin off corporation from one of Bill Gates close associates. That company brought together people who were from totally different backgrounds and were not the “world’s best” in their field, but were in the top percentage. Each of these were given some reading materials about an area and then they came together and started with a question from a moderator. Like, “how would you make glasses that automatically focused?” They would have a free ranging discussion. A lawyer would take notes and then look up patents to see if they were coming up with unique ideas. It turns out that the group was able to come up with over a hundred new patents in a year worth millions of dollars. The point being that they were able to do this BECAUSE they did not all have the same background, but were intelligent enough to see connections that others could not see as they all talked together.
Much of science today is too silo driven. “If you are not a PhD in…. you don’t have anything to say.” This is just not correct. There are many insights and cross over applications for these things. I agree totally with DV82XL. Nuclear is not that tough to understand. It is using very well known and fairly easy physics to do the work. The specific details for an engineer can be challenging as sterling Archer is showing. But, the overall system is simpler than a new automobile these days. The Gen IV even easier!
We don’t need to be a master trained mechanic, or auto engineer to understand enough about cars to have definite opinions about their use, safety and limits. The basic technology is well understood.
I have been linking constantly to this site. You are doing a wonderful job of breaking the concepts down into simple chunks. Thanks for a great contribution!
I visit half a dozen or so nuclear sites and blogs on a regular basis. Nuclear Fissionary is one of them. It is my strong opinion that the largest obstacle to nuclear power is not economic viability, lack of resources, or ability to compete. I believe public opinion and mistrust is the main source of impedance. The anti-nuclear lobby has had quite a while to spin their side without comparable resistance.
This site is one of those precious few resources that provides good and coherent information to educate the public and make a positive argument for nuclear power. I only wish their were more sites like Nuclear Fissionary because good PR is a rare commodity in the nuclear industry. I know that was quite a bit of flattery but it is honestly how I feel and I am grateful for your continued efforts, nuclear power needs it.
-Will
Greg, I can appreciate your desire to spread the word. I began reading about nuclear power in earnest about January, 2009 after hearing a radio show by Rabbi Lapin on KSFO (and I’m not Jewish, just enjoy his reparte’) where he described the energy density between wood, coal, oil and uranium. Astounding!
Having been in the vision care field 23 years and now assisting a friend with some solar panel technology has thrust me into research mode on comparisons. I admit to being very conflicted now, since nuclear is so far superior for most applications. And when SMRs become available, there will be even less reason to support solar or wind.
YouTube has some excellent, albeit dated, video cartoons run during the First Atomic Age. Perhaps an update and viral messaging is in order? Otherwise, keep up the good work. I stop by nearly daily – my own “mail route”.
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