Yesterday's announcement of a breakthrough in fusion research has led to some reactions here and elsewhere. There was something on the Powerline blog, which cites the frequent opposition from the green crowd with respect to all technological advancements. Generally, they are quite negative about it. Powerline quotes some environmentalists on the possibility of cold fusion back in the 80's, and laments the negativity of these Malthusian types.
This allows me to segue into a comment on the Malthusians. Given that their arguments are wrong, that such arguments can be taken seriously in some quarters is enough to give pause in itself. If technology can be misused, it is most likely going to come from bad argumentation like the Malthusians made, than from the technology itself. Paradoxically, this could be a reason why technology may be a flawed way towards advancement. These idiots may get their hands on it and abuse it. Like they do with social media.
The Brandon mal-Administration has hyped up a modestly succesful advancement as a cure for a problem that may not even exist, for example. It is neither a cure ( because it isn't anywhere near commercialization), nor is there really much of a need for the cure they claim is needed. We cannot overheat the Earth even if we tried. But we can do a lot of other very stupid things.
If genuine scientific advancement cannot even be understood properly, how can it be managed properly? That's the question. Malthusianism is nothing more than a bunch of misinformed cranks who couldn't fix a bowl of soup, much less a real problem. The problem is really that so many people listen to these nincompoops.
If there's a real problem with a technology, they cannot be trusted with it.
I'd worry a lot more about artificial intelligence than in nuclear fusion, for example. You cannot count on these clowns to get it right. There's my best case in favor of the Malthusians.
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