MattB

Coal, Oil and the Human Difficulty of Grasping Long Duration Problems

@353732 ... "It is not actionable to look beyond the strategic horizon: there is no business or personal return today for trying to "solve" a problem where the payoff to a solution is far distant and most uncertain but the cost of the solution is immediate and certain" ...

Fortunately there is always a cadre of idiosynchratic individuals prepared to take a stab at solving long-range problems - real or perceived - who, along the way, invent things that contribute immediately to our wellbeing. Without "grand challenges" it is difficult for us to think beyond incremental improvement. We certainly aren't going to run out of wood, coal or oil in our lifetime, but the inspired search for "ultimate solutions" will lead us to technologies and solutions that we would otherwise never strive to discover.