Episode 80

The sixth in a series of episodes wherein Juliet and I begin by jointly consulting the I Ching (ancient Chinese oracle), getting hexagram 4 "Youthful Folly", and then see where that goes. We continue to consider the extent to which various types of energy on the Earth can be related back to the Sun, touching on Thomas Gold's controversial abiogenic theory of petroleum origin, the quest for commercial nuclear fusion and the trapping of stars inside "Dyson spheres" before stopping to consider the Sun from an experiential perspective and the global/historical repository of solar myth and symbol (likewise the Moon). The contrast between these and the "official" numerical data-based descriptions of the Heavenly bodies in question leads to a discussion of disenchantment, re-enchantment and Australian aboriginal songlines.

---

Some relevant links:

• crude oil
• abiogenic theory of how oil is created
• Thomas Gold
• hydroelectricity
• tidal power
• nuclear fusion
• chain reaction NOTE: chain reactions only occur in nuclear fission, not fusion, so aren't relevant to my description of what's going on with the Sun!
• Dyson sphere
• the Sun
• solar deities
• solar symbols
• the Moon
• mythology associated with the Moon
• disenchantment
• Australian aboriginal songlines
• Timothy Leary's "Eight-Circuit" model of consciousness
• leopard slugs (Limax maximus)