Eyewitness: Energy

Rating:
Summary: We're not as smart as we'd like to think
Review: In the introduction Challoner writes that ancient people did not understand energy and an understanding of energy has only emerged in the past several hundred years. This is innacurate. People who still live ancient indigenous lifestyles often have a very sophisticated understanding of energy that is in fact far more functional than that of many modern people. While we often use energy indiscriminately without realizing the source of the energy of our food or our fuel, ancient people and those who still live in ancient ways are far more conscious of the energy they consume and where it comes from. Because they live in the ecosystems from which their energy comes, they have no choice but to use it responsibly, unlike "advanced" civilizations. The book may have plenty of accurate information about energy, but there is no need to introduce it with the myth that "advanced" cultures are superior in wisdom to ancient ones. I don't critique this because it is offensive, but because it is dangerous. Modern people must relearn what was once known by everyone: that if we don't understand our resources and use them wisely, we will have to live in the mess we create.