Energy Sources as Catalysts for Civilizational Progress

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  Energy is the hidden skeleton of civilization. Each major leap in human capability corresponds to a new way of accessing energy.

  
  

  Population on Earth, when energy source changed:

  Fire: A period from over a million years:

  15,000 - 1,000,000 humans

  Unlocked:

  • cooked food (which enhanced brain evolution),

  • warmth (allowing migration),

  • metallurgy (tools, weapons).

  Fire was humanity’s first external “tool” of control.

  Horses (and animals). A period of 10,000 year

  1,000,000 - 1,200,000,000 humans

  Provided:

  • mobility,

  • speed,

  • warfare amplification.

  Empires expanded because of horsepower.

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  Hydrocarbons (coal, oil, gas). A period of 200 years:

  1,200,000,000 - 9,000,000,000 humans

  The Industrial Revolution exists only because hydrocarbons stored ancient sunlight in chemical form. They powered:

  • factories,

  • ships,

  • cars,

  • plastics,

  • global warfare,

  • global transport.

  Hydrocarbons turned human muscle into machine output.

  
  

  Electricity

  Electricity abstracted energy from physical machinery. It:

  • lit the night,

  • enabled computation,

  • allowed global communication.

  Electricity shifted dominance from brute force to intellectual development.

  
  

  Fusion (potential future)!!!!!!!

  If unlocked, fusion would:

  • remove scarcity,

  • eliminate geopolitical energy wars,

  • power planetary colonization,

  • enable megascale computation.

  Energy abundance transforms values. Scarcity breeds violence; abundance breeds knowledge.

  
  

  Do Energy Sources Influence Whether Mind or Emotion Dominates?

  Yes — profoundly.

  Scarcity Favors Emotion

  When energy is scarce:

  • fear rises,

  • tribalism returns,

  • aggression increases.

  Emotion thrives under threat.

  Abundance Favors Rational Thought

  When energy is abundant:

  • education expands,

  • curiosity grows,

  • technology accelerates.

  Rationality thrives when daily survival is guaranteed.

  Thus, human psychological evolution is ultimately entangled with energy access.

  
  

  The Present Era: A Tectonic Shift Toward Mind

  Today, global progress increasingly depends on:

  • data,

  • algorithms,

  • quantum computing,

  • genetic engineering.

  These fields cannot be governed by emotion; they demand precision.

  However, emotional manipulation has migrated into:

  • social media,

  • political polarization,

  • populist rhetoric.

  The contest continues.

  
  

  The Future: Can Mind Fully Surpass Emotion?

  Humanity’s next challenge is not technological — it is psychological.

  We must answer:

  • Can rationality govern morality?

  • Can emotion be channeled rather than suppressed?

  • Can empathy survive automation?

  A civilization of pure logic is cold.A civilization of pure emotion is chaotic.

  The future requires integration:intelligence to plan, emotion to value what is planned.

  
  

  Where My Work Stands Uniquely

  My books do not repeat the overused trope of cosmic consciousness.

  Instead:

  • dissect internal human duality,

  • treat history as a psychological evolution,

  • link energy revolutions with psychological dominance,

  • show how emotion drove early progress, but the mind drives advanced civilization.

  This is a fresh lens.

  Most science fiction looks outward. My looks inward — and discovers that the greatest frontier is not space, but the human psyche navigating spacetime.

Is ENERGY Crucial in Human PROGRESS? Join in discussion!