Summary of Vaclav Smil's How the World Really Works

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 A benign science fiction scenario is that an extremely sapient civilization monitors Earth and its inhabitants. The probes make periodic visits to our planet, and only when they detect a previously unknown form of energy conversion or a new physical manifestation dependent on it do they make a second pass.

#2 The first microorganisms emerge nearly 4 billion years ago, but passing probes do not register them, as they are rare and remain hidden associated with alkaline hydrothermal vents at the ocean’s floor.

#3 The first extrasomatic use of energy is the controlled combustion of plants to create light and heat, which is used for cooking and comfort. The first crop cultivation is recorded about 10 millennia ago.

#4 By 1800, the UK is the most interesting country to the alien probe because it is an exceptional early adopter. The country has a early start in coal mining, and begins to use steam engines to power machines.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822546837

IRB Media

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Insights on Vaclav Smil's How the World Really Works

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

A benign science fiction scenario is that an extremely sapient civilization monitors Earth and its inhabitants. The probes make periodic visits to our planet, and only when they detect a previously unknown form of energy conversion or a new physical manifestation dependent on it do they make a second pass.

#2

The first microorganisms emerge nearly 4 billion years ago, but passing probes do not register them, as they are rare and remain hidden associated with alkaline hydrothermal vents at the ocean’s floor.

#3

The first extrasomatic use of energy is the controlled combustion of plants to create light and heat, which is used for cooking and comfort. The first crop cultivation is recorded about 10 millennia ago.

#4

By 1800, the UK is the most interesting country to the alien probe because it is an exceptional early adopter. The country has a early start in coal mining, and begins to use steam engines to power machines.

#5

By 1950, fossil fuels supplied nearly three-quarters of primary energy, and inanimate prime movers—now with gasoline- and diesel-fueled internal combustion engines—provided more than 80 percent of all mechanical energy.

#6

The most important factor in the rise of civilization is the increasing dependence on fossil fuels. The amount of energy available to humans has tripled since the 19th century, and an average Earthling has at their disposal about 700 times more useful energy than their ancestors had at the beginning of the 19th century.

#7

The importance of energy in human affairs has been recognized by many throughout history. It is the basis of life, and it is the only truly universal currency. Nothing can occur in the world without its transformations.

#8

Modern economics, with its explanations and precepts, has largely ignored energy. It does not consider energy important for the physical process of production, and it assumes that energy doesn’t matter because the cost share of energy in the economy is so small that it can be ignored.

#9

The most common definition of energy is the capacity for doing work, but