How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future
- Downloads：7010
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-01 09:51:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Vaclav Smil
- ISBN：0241454409
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
'There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil' Bill Gates
__________
We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works。 This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity。 From energy and food production， through our material world and its globalization， to risks， our environment and its future， How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check - because before we can tackle problems effectively， we must understand the facts。
In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see， for example， that globalization isn't inevitable - the perils of allowing 70 per cent of the world's rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020 - and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels， making their complete and rapid elimination unlikely。 For example， each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato requires the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel oil for its production; and we still lack any commercially viable ways of making steel， ammonia， cement or plastics on the scale required globally without fossil fuels。
Vaclav Smil is neither a pessimist nor an optimist， he is a scientist; he is the world-leading expert on energy and an astonishing polymath。 This is his magnum opus and a continuation of his quest to make facts matter。 Drawing on the latest science， including his own fascinating research， and tackling sources of misinformation head on - from Yuval Noah Harari to Noam Chomsky - ultimately Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead？ Compelling， data-rich and revisionist， this wonderfully broad， interdisciplinary masterpiece finds faults with both extremes。 Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past， present and uncertain future。
__________
'Very informative and eye-opening in many ways' Ha-Joon Chang， author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism
'If you are anxious about the future， and infuriated that we aren't doing enough about it， please read this book' Paul Collier， author of The Future of Capitalism
__________
We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works。 This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity。 From energy and food production， through our material world and its globalization， to risks， our environment and its future， How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check - because before we can tackle problems effectively， we must understand the facts。
In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see， for example， that globalization isn't inevitable - the perils of allowing 70 per cent of the world's rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020 - and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels， making their complete and rapid elimination unlikely。 For example， each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato requires the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel oil for its production; and we still lack any commercially viable ways of making steel， ammonia， cement or plastics on the scale required globally without fossil fuels。
Vaclav Smil is neither a pessimist nor an optimist， he is a scientist; he is the world-leading expert on energy and an astonishing polymath。 This is his magnum opus and a continuation of his quest to make facts matter。 Drawing on the latest science， including his own fascinating research， and tackling sources of misinformation head on - from Yuval Noah Harari to Noam Chomsky - ultimately Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead？ Compelling， data-rich and revisionist， this wonderfully broad， interdisciplinary masterpiece finds faults with both extremes。 Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past， present and uncertain future。
__________
'Very informative and eye-opening in many ways' Ha-Joon Chang， author of 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism
'If you are anxious about the future， and infuriated that we aren't doing enough about it， please read this book' Paul Collier， author of The Future of Capitalism
Reviews
Michiel
，
Understanding the world for realists: Smil explains energy， food， materials， environment and risks by keeping track of the quantities involved。
Ryan
，
I learned a great deal， and the narration was good。 Well done。
Duy
，
Sách nói về sự vận hành nói chung của đời sống con người hiện đại （sản xuất lương thực， năng lượng， thông tin。。。）。 Đọc để có cái nhìn toàn cảnh， và cũng để biết một số hứa hẹn như 'năng lượng tái tạo' có thực sự khả thi hay không。Nhưng mình không thích thái độ coi thường người khác của ông này。 Ví dụ， khi một số người không phải chuyên gia khen ngợi các chính sách năng lượng sạch， tác giả mỉa mai những người đó và cho rằng họ 'đột nhiên trở thành chuyên gia trong lĩnh vực'。 Mk。 Trong khi ông này Sách nói về sự vận hành nói chung của đời sống con người hiện đại （sản xuất lương thực， năng lượng， thông tin。。。）。 Đọc để có cái nhìn toàn cảnh， và cũng để biết một số hứa hẹn như 'năng lượng tái tạo' có thực sự khả thi hay không。Nhưng mình không thích thái độ coi thường người khác của ông này。 Ví dụ， khi một số người không phải chuyên gia khen ngợi các chính sách năng lượng sạch， tác giả mỉa mai những người đó và cho rằng họ 'đột nhiên trở thành chuyên gia trong lĩnh vực'。 Mk。 Trong khi ông này đang viết về một cuốn sách rất chung chung đả động tới tất cả mọi thứ， thế chẳng phải giờ ổng cũng 'đột nhiên trở thành chuyên gia trong mọi lĩnh vực' à。 Ghét mấy lão kiểu này。Lại có một đoạn khi viết về biến đổi khí hậu （nóng lên toàn cầu）， ổng viết đại loại: hiện tượng nóng lên toàn cầu đã được biết từ cả thế kỷ trước。 Các nghiên cứu trong thế kỷ vừa qua không đóng góp được gì nhiều lắm。 Mk。 Đúng là xúc phạm hàng trăm hàng ngàn nhà khoa học。 Nội dung sách ok （có lẽ vì phạm vi nội dung quá lớn nên muốn viết dở cũng không được）， nhưng thái độ của tác giả thì m。。。 。。。more
frances hawker
，
definitely worth reading A sobering account of how global politics and human behaviour are constraining our efforts to deal with future problems，especially climate change。
Kalyan Turaga
，
Same as his old books。 Vaclav is good at numbers， he connects the numbers and constructs a narrative; at the end of the day its a statistics book masqueraded as a coherent english book。 Is the book interesting NOWill you read this book again NOWhy did you pick this book in first place？ It's near to my topic of interest and I did not have good choices in the library。 Same as his old books。 Vaclav is good at numbers， he connects the numbers and constructs a narrative; at the end of the day its a statistics book masqueraded as a coherent english book。 Is the book interesting NOWill you read this book again NOWhy did you pick this book in first place？ It's near to my topic of interest and I did not have good choices in the library。 。。。more
Froggarana
，
We eat oilmodern agriculture is a method of converting fossil fuel oil to fooda very small number of people have been saying this for decadesan even smaller number of people have been trying to do something about it。At some point in the future humans are going to be forced into action or starve。
Rosa Whiteley
，