What are the lessons from Watt’s experience?

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What are the lessons from Watt’s experience?

        *Lee Chard

 (Question No.7097   

2008.7.19)

 Among young people today, probably no one knows who James Watt is.  Let alone know whether the word "watt" written on our light bulbs is sixty watts or one hundred watts, which is the name of Watt.

 I think back then, the story of James Watt's invention of the steam engine was as popular as Newton's discovery of an apple falling to the ground.  It's not easy, the water vapor will lift the lid of the teapot.  It's a simple principle.  Originally, this should be the story of every child, especially every boy.  But boys today usually only know how to play video games and will not know such stories.

 They will even less know that there is another alternative lesson contained in this story.

 The following is a little information about Watt:

 Watt took fifteen years to successfully trial-produce it.

  At first, he was just a laboratory instrument repairman.  He already had the idea of ​​a steam engine in mind, but unfortunately he couldn't proceed due to lack of funds.  By chance, he got the support of an industrialist, but unfortunately it failed after spending a lot of money.  Steam kept leaking from the piston.  At that time, there was no airtight piston in the world.  The industrialist also stopped supporting him.  Watt was not supported by fate  either.  

His family was in a difficult situation, all his brothers and sisters were dead, and even his wife died after his experiment failed.  Watt himself is not in good health and often has headaches...

 The stories of this type of inventor actually have the same formula.

 At first, a very energetic young man came up with an idea.  However, without funds, it cannot be done.

 Later, funds became available (Wasn't Watt very lucky to find an industrialist to support him?) However, the funds would soon be used up.

 Watt ruined his family and no one dared to imitate him and become a poor inventor.

 Why are funds running out so quickly?  Of course it's not because someone is lining their own pockets, but because of a lack of technology.  A small air leakage problem in the piston has delayed him for more than ten years.  Why was he forced to work without any technical support?  Why does society allow this to happen?

 Because the society did not expect that the small air leakage problem would not drag on Watt personally for more than ten years, but the entire society for more than ten years.

 We can rename the modern civilized society of the past three hundred years as the "non-conscious petroleum civilized society".

 This society relies too much on the so-called "free market", has no sense of crisis, and has never been able to look at problems from a holistic perspective.

 If there is the same foolish young man today, and he comes up with a way, he comes up with some kind of good idea to effectively use sunlight, our society will still treat him the same way it treats Watt.

 Funds?  No way.

 Technical support?  there has never been.

 He can only be like Watt, bankrupt and ruined.

 What's more, if this young man is just a thinker like Lee Chard, and what he sees is just a theory, society will use all possible means to prohibit the spread of his ideas.  Because the "unconscious petroleum civilization" is characterized by conservatism .  They feel that unfamiliar ideas are dangerous.  It is best to eradicate such thoughts as soon as possible.  (For more than ten years, who can buy Lee Chard's books in bookstores? Bookstores refuse to sell his books. (*The power of the secret party has never subsided until 2023. It is just hidden.)

 Our society can spend tens of billions of dollars on various projects at will, but it has never truly thought that our knowledge network is too outdated and needs to be updated.  

 ………………………………………………

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瓦特的經驗，有何教訓？

 *李察
(問到底 No.7097 

 2008.7.19)


今時今日的青年人，大約沒有人知道誰是瓦特。更不會知道，我們的電燈泡上寫著的，是六十瓦，還是一百瓦的那一個「瓦」字，就是瓦特的名字。


想當年，瓦特發明蒸汽機的故事，就像牛頓發現蘋果跌在地上那麼流行。還不容易嘛，水汽會把茶煲裡的蓋子揭開。是個簡易的原理。本來，這應該是每個孩子，特別是每個男孩子的故事。但今日的男孩子，通常只識打機，不會知道這樣的故事。


他們更加不會知道，這故事裡面蘊含的另一種另類的教訓。


以下是瓦特的小小資料：


瓦特是前後經歷了十五年才試製成功的。起初，他只是個實驗室儀器修理員。腦中己有了蒸汽機的意念，可惜欠缺資金，無法進行。很「偶然」的機會，他獲得一個工業家的支持，可惜在花費了不少錢之後失敗了。蒸汽不斷從活塞中漏出來。那時世上還未有不漏氣的活塞呢。工業家也不再支持他了。瓦特的命運也不好。家境困難，兄弟姊妹都死光了，連他的妻子，也在他實驗失敗後逝世了。他自己也身體不好，經常頭痛、、、。


這一類發明家的故事，其實是有相同公式的。


最初是有個很有朝氣的青年人，想到了一個點子。但是，沒有資金，無法進行。


後來有了資金，(瓦特不是非常幸運地，找到了一位工業家支持他嗎？)不過，這資金會很快用光。
瓦特弄得家破人亡，沒有人敢仿效他，當個窮困的發明家。


為甚麼資金很快用光？當然不是因為有人中飽私囊，而是技術不足。看，活塞的小小漏氣問題，竟然拖了他十幾年。為甚麼他只能在全無技術支援下苦幹？為甚麼社會竟然會容許這樣的事情發生？


因為，社會沒有想到，小小的漏氣問題，不是拖了瓦特個人十幾年，而是拖了整個社會十幾年。


我們可以把過去三百年的現代文明社會，更名為：非自覺的石油文明社會。


這個社會，過份依賴所謂「自由市場」，全無危機意識，從未能在整體著眼看問題。


　　如果今時今日，有相同的一個傻瓜青年，他想到了一種辦法，他想出了某種有效利用陽光的好主意，我們的社會，仍會像對待瓦特一樣的對待他。


　　資金？欠奉。


　　技術支援？從來沒有。


　　他只能像瓦特一樣，傾家蕩產，家破人亡。


　　更如果，這青年人只是像李察之類的思想者，他看到的只是一種理論，社會更加會用盡方法，禁制他的思想傳播。因為，非自覺的石油文明，特徵是「保
守」。他們覺得，陌生的思想，都是危險的。要完全剷除這樣的思想。(多年來，誰能在書店裡買得到李察的書？書店都不肯賣他的書的。(*秘密黨的勢力，到2023年都從未消退，只是隱藏得更好。)

我們的社會能夠以一百億元為單位，任意投放於不同的項目之中，但從未曾切實想過，我們的知識網絡，已經太過殘舊，需要更新。 　



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