How the world really works
The world has never worked perfectly, but the majority of people in the Western developed world have lost sight of its resilience because they no longer are directly exposed to it. This is one of the main points made by Vaclav Smil in a wide-ranging review of the perception distortions that make Westerners worry and be so easily worried. The point is; sound science in practice doesn't breed the now common panic , but the kind of intellectual practice that keeps addressing the real challenges we still face. There is more too that needs to be said once thinking people accept the distortions and disproportions -- but later. Perception is very complex and made even more so by the huge levels of ignorance Vaclav points to. Beyond the above, there is the even greater challenge that resolution is not just about facts or even risks, but involves profound process change and the guilt , denial and projection that comes with imposed change and challenge. If we were to have a survey