Physics for future presidents
We live in complicated, dangerous times. Present and future presidents need to know if North Korea's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if private companies should be allowed to lead the way on space exploration, and what the actual facts are about the worsening threats from climate change. This is "must-have" information for all presidents—and citizens—of the twenty-first century. Winner of the 2009 Northern California Book Award for General Nonfiction.
Stats for nerds
10recommend
24mentions
17people
2010–2021years
46% recommend50% neutral4% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- FYI Richard Muller has a terrible track record for this stuff. I distinctly recall listening to his lectures from almost a decade ago and he had a whole lesson on how the concept of an electric car was physically impossible, and Tesla would never be able to deliver a working vehicle. That's just the most prominent example but I recall there were at least 3-4 other questionable claims he made with shaky justifications before I stopped listening.
Still to the OP, the "Physics for future Presidents" lectures and/or book are probably the best place to start. Just take any controversial statements in it with a huge fucking grain of salt though.
- Physics for Future Presidents but Richard A. Muller
- Physics for Future Presidents by Richard A. Muller (major scientific ideas, not just physics...)
- Pretty much just as unsuited. Even if a van has 3 times the area available to solar panels it's still a negligible amount of energy...
By the way, the best book and/or course I've read for building intuition for these kinds of questions is "Physics for Future Presidents" by Richard Muller. He used to teach it as a course at CMU and I believe the lecture series is still available to watch or listen to online. Very worthwhile.
- Rich Muller is a smart guy. I was at the conference where he announced he had changed his mind about climate change, and why. FWIW, his book "Physics for Future Presidents" -- while not really about climate change -- is very good too.
- Are you statistics challenged? Even an attack on the level of 9/11 will be significantly lower than the number of Americans that shoot each other to death per year. If you want to read about the likelihood of a nuclear attack by terrorists, read Physics for Future Presidents. It's very, very low.
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