by Timo » Mon 16 Feb 2015, 17:06:59
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('KaiserJeep', 'I') believe Desu wastes our time and his in "Preaching to the Choir". I keep Hubbert's paper and several other references in my E-Reader, and take it everywhere I go, and never need a refresher in the basics of PO.
Although he has every right to do what he is doing, we as other PO members also have every right to our opinions about what he does in this Forum. Soon enough another noob will appear, and Desu will understand our frustration from the other side.
KJ, if this is truely the way you feel, then don't read the threads he starts. If he's a waste of your time, then don't waste your time reading what he posts. Simple, but very effective.
I will take a stab at his question, though, and posit that it is, indeed, a waste of time trying to educate others about PO. Most people will listen politely, but they will either a) dismiss you as a lunatic, b) assume your argument is basically correct, but that the timeframe is well beyond our lifetimes, c) assume the argument is correct, but will also cling to the belief in the magic techno genie that will miraculously emerge to save us all from oblivion, or 4) politely change the subject. The reasons for the most common reactions is that any true understanding and acknowledgement of PO requires the self-indictment that every last one of us in the civilized world has been living the wrong way, and that WE are the cause of our own destruction. This doesn't go very well in casual conversation. Most people aren't scientists, and any inclusion of techno jargon in the conversation is the fastest way to lose the argument your trying to make. It just doesn't register. In one ear, and out the other. From the political POV, well, Nope. Don't even bother trying to sell the understanding of PO to a politician. Doom and gloom is the fastest way to lose the next election. Then there are the people who actually want to engage you in the discussion, and are hell-bent on disproving the entire argument, once and for all. My brother-in-law is a perfect case in point. He honestly believes that the oil wells in Texas that were pumping so much oil back in the 70s have since replenished their reserves, like an aquifer. In his mind, the peak will never occur because all we need to do is give the empty wells time to recover their supply. Meanwhile, we have other reserves that are filling the gap, so we can simply put all of the world's oil production on a 20 or 30 year rotating schedule, and let nature take its course. End of discussion.
I honestly wish i was making that last part up.