I just joined after reading Mac a bees statements and the replies. I am in my 8th decade. Here is my input: in 1950 my Alhambra High School chemistry instructor Miller assigned us subjects for Term Papers. I chose static electricity and its possible uses. He turned me down, saying it was nonsense. I then chose the Periodic Chart and its possible expansion encompassing undiscovered elements. He told me it was okay but a waste of time as all the elements had been discovered. He was serious. I was young. A couple of years later, I thought it would be great if I could put a radio inside of a hat, like a football helmet. This was before Sony invaded the scene. Another: roll bars for cars and trucks, not just race cars. Most everyone thought it nonsense, not practical. The point is this: we are, as individuals, each a vortex that looks out onto the universe that is, was and ever will be. From time to time we "think of" what could manifest, as if it were "new'. . Since we all come from the same source of light energy, what we think of can be. What is often unknown is how to get there. As a species, we have accumulated data but not all data. It is frequently stated, as Dave Turpin points out, you cannot change the laws of physics; you cannot create energy out of nothing; you can, as Dave Livingston points out, convert it with certain resultant loses BUT that assumes we know everything, which we do not. Our journey within our known universe is to discover new approaches, and in Mac a bees case, curiosity and investigation to unleashing and utilizing water wheel energy. He may appear to be wrong according to what we know presently BUT he is spot-on for turning on the searchlight and looking. It is the journey that counts. In that journey, as often occurs, an oblique direction, is even accidentally taken, and voila! a new avenue is opened up, for example x & y extending into infinity can actually be imagined to be looped back and we have 3D images on two dimensional screens. Not possible, right? Well, we have TV's that do that. Knowledge is NOT finite. It is infinite and expanding exponentially. Let us go forward into the expanse with joy and insatiable experimentation, especially in renewable energy. For example, all the naysayers say photosynthesis cannot produce sufficient electricity. Really? Okay, don't poke around there, go drink a beer and know all has been done and there is nothing more. Realize, the earth for millions of years has been using the green stuff very effectively. And, as for static electricity? Naw…nothing like nano technology or binary language will ever exist, right? jp
