by naveen srivatsav
All in Big Here Long Now
The news of Donald Trump's presidency has been so singularly distressing that I absolutely had to take time out to come to terms with it, make sense of it for myself, integrate it into my understanding of the world as it is (and not as I would like it to be). This essay therefore is more for me than anyone else… trying to make sense of a miasma of thoughts.
In a book entitled “Introduction to Lacan”, Slavoj Zizek tangentially refers to the ecological crisis of our time, and why we have been thus far unable to meaningfully engage with it. Specifically, he suggests that this failure can be explained by psychoanalysis. In this essay, I try to break the illusions of these faulty modes of response.
Some shower thoughts on the ever-growing energy demand of the world. How much energy is adequate for the human race, at which point we might consider reducing our energy demand or at the very least, prioritize energy expenditures between the essential and trivial.
This was a supplemental essay I wrote for a Masters application in the Technology and Public Policy area. The task was to craft an layman essay that would introduce anyone not familiar with the field, to what I intend to do specifically.
Notes I quickly jotted down from Prof. Guillermo Gonzales' short primer on astrobiology, delivered at a guest lecture when I was doing my Bachelors in Singapore. It was an eye-opening look into the intricately connected coincidences that seem to have conspired to allow life to flourish on this planet.
(I have typed out my own thoughts and objections where necessary in italics.)