http://transitioniow.org/2008/02/24/nine-catastrophes/ We Need To Plan For Oil Price Rises and Climate Change … ASAP !!! Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:33:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://transitioniow.org/2008/02/24/nine-catastrophes/#comment-521 Bill Hansen Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:50:49 +0000 http://transitioniow.org/wp/2008/02/24/nine-catastrophes/#comment-521 I was a graduate student in the 1970s when Dr. Thom visited our campus. I never pursued the math, but the basic concept of irreversable (or difficult to reverse) sudden changes has stayed with me ever since. I think you can add many economic examples to this idea -- the most profound being the events that may unfold as peak oil, the bursting of the housing bubble, and other events unfold. The challenge is not that we cannot understand catastrophies, it's that we remain linear thinkers even after going over the cusp. I was a graduate student in the 1970s when Dr. Thom visited our campus. I never pursued the math, but the basic concept of irreversable (or difficult to reverse) sudden changes has stayed with me ever since. I think you can add many economic examples to this idea — the most profound being the events that may unfold as peak oil, the bursting of the housing bubble, and other events unfold. The challenge is not that we cannot understand catastrophies, it’s that we remain linear thinkers even after going over the cusp.

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