Brilliant?
I just finished reading a book by Jane Brox called "Brilliant," which I liked very much, until I got to the the last fifth of it.
Let's back up a bit now. "Brillliant" is the story of Prometheus, essentially. It relates how humanity ascended from darkness to our current state of empowerment. From cave dwellers burning animal fat, to whalers seeking sperm oil, to the use of oil in the form of kerosene and up to the present, the story she tells is one of triumph, of brilliant scientists harnessing nature and making people's lives easier, more productive, and happier. Especially vivid is the account of how rural electrification freed small town residents and country dwellers from the drudgery that up until then had consumed most of their waking hours.
The last few chapters, however, are full of envirosludge, pious blitherings about alternative energy and conservation, featuring our old friends, solar panels, wind farms, and recycling, and full of apologies for using irreplaceable resources.
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5 comments:
she wanted to get published...now, is that a crime to want some money?!?
That's exactly how I felt about reading The Ancestor's Tale, by Dawkins. Fascinating story - but how do you manage to insert a diatribe against George W. Bush and Iraq in a book about evolution?
I mean, given Dawkin's oft-screeched beliefs I knew exactly what to expect in regards to the existence of a Supreme Being of some sort. That was quite fine with me - his divergence from my belief system doesn't negate the interesting information in his book.
But I'm still shaking my head over his segue into an anti-war rant while discussing hominids (I believe that was the subject at hand).
Bush is the last boogieman of the 21st century.
Alas, Miriam: Israel holds that place [boogieman] firmly.
Yesterday witnessed this (simplified for space) online conversation:
A, B, C and D argue with N re: Russian visa regime for foreigners, comparing it to that of the "West" countries (meaning, as I understand, EU, UK and USA). After an hour or so E. addresses N with "do you want Russia to be to West what Isreal(sic!) is to US?"
I suggest he a) check his spelling b) do not get Israel involved in his irrelevant arguments. E retorts: you have a nice blog - for a lonely woman, desperate for a man!
See, lefties -by sheer intellectual superiority - will always have a winning strategy in an argument!
Tat: Your commenter does the ad hominem thing like a pro. Such people are poison.
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