Blogging the Noosphere

Lots of interesting content on Edge on the question of “What will change everything?“   I especially like Kelly and Hillis’s responses, which probably would not surprise those of you who know or read me. But I was also fascinated by Sherman’s response, discussing energy, environment and economics.  These issues, more and more, are being perceived as inextricably linked to one another, and key to all kinds of challenges we face.

The civilization type classification system discussed has a satisfyingly Star Trek feel to it.  And the fact that it was first articulated in 1964 by a Soviet astronomer, Nikolai Kardashev, should show that these concerns and ideas are not simply reactions to recent events like the financial market’s implosion or global warming trends, but have been thought of and discussed for some time.  The discussion of high-level patterns of civilizations and energy usage remind me strongly of De Landa’s thesis in his “A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History“, a wonderfully insightful book that I can’t believe I don’t see more reference to from authors such as Sherman and others like him on Edge in their writings.