6 ms·

1) All models are wrong but some are useful. 2) What you are espousing here really isn’t all that useful other than as a way of playing “ooh gotcha” in argumen

1) All models are wrong but some are useful. 2) What you are espousing here really isn’t all that useful other than as a way of playing “ooh gotcha” in arguments with others 3) Energy is only zero sum in closed systems and the earth is not a closed system. The overwhelming majority of our energy comes from a source outside our ecosystem and a non-zero amount also escapes from our planet. Ergo, it’s not a closed system and your zero sum notions do not necessarily always apply.

neonological 6y ago
1. Except your model is missing an extremely important figure. Modern economies thrive off of the energy variable. This is not some missing detail, it is critical. 2. No it is useful and highly practical. See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26352352 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26352352 3. Energy is limited in the amount that arrives from the sun per day and the amount we have the ability to extract from the earth and the sun and the wind per day. The limit is evident by the fact you have to pay for it. If it were unlimited, your energy bill would be zero. There does exist products on earth that while not technically unlimited can be practically considered unlimited. One such example is the air you breath. Energy is NOT an example of this.
hippira 6y ago
I want to chip in here and say that accouting for limited resources in an economic model is definitely useful, because the negate ( not accounting for limited resources ) has led to the environmental disaster that we find ourselves in right now.
- incongruity 6y ago
  That’s an eminently reasonable proposition but that is far far from insisting on dogmatic application of a zero-sum rule where it demonstrably does not apply. One of the most interesting proofs of this is the measurable change in the Earth’s albedo due to climate change (and the downward spiral that creates). If we can demonstrate notable changes in how much energy is retained or lost, globally, that destroys the notion of this being a closed system. Similarly, the sun itself is known to be variable in its total energy output so there is no reasonable assurance of a constant amount of energy into or out of our global system. We can’t really control how much energy is produced but it is false to assert that all energy is used as well - there is notable margin for good or for bad here - and because of that, the zero-sum claim is just silly.
  - neonological 6y ago
    What confuses people is the fact that for many things if energy isn’t used it is actually completely lost, hence people believe that this “lost” energy constitutes a possible unlimited potential supply. Sure it can constitute such a thing if you can find a way to utilize this lost energy. Currently there’s no way to utilize hence it’s not a factor. Ephemeral supply and wasted energy only limits supply even further. Here’s a very simple way to think about it that gets rid of the associated complexities : The fact that you pay for energy and the fact that energy outages can occur when usage exceeds supply means that energy is limited and therefore zero sum. In fact the attempt to try to reason your way to another conclusion is the silly endeavor. The economy is zero sum because the actual key measurement of all economic goods is the lowering of entropy which is directly done by energy utilization which is directly limited.
    - malandrew 6y ago
      The economy is a concept that exists strictly on Earth (until someone like Musk colonizes Mars). A huge portion of our energy comes from the Sun both in the form of plant matter from agriculture and from solar power as we increasingly build solar panels to harvest the Sun's energy. The simple fact that we can take this exogenous source of energy and feed it into our economy to grow it means that yes, it's zero sum if you consider the Universe, but from the perspective of the economy here on Planet Earth, that economy getting energy for free and grow in excess of your zero sum thinking.
      - neonological 6y ago
        No. First off net useable energy is constantly decreasing in the universe. Entropy will always increase until all energy available for use in the universe is zero. The universe is not a zero sum game. It is negative and in the end everyone loses. The earth receives energy from the sun at a limited rate. The limit on the rate and limits on our technology in order to extract this energy functions as a practical limit. Zero sum games are used colloquially in the context of transactional games. When a resource is limited in this context the game is zero sum. Someone loses during the creation and exchange of an economic product. The context of increasing technology or resource discovery is separate from this topic and not what people mean when they say the economy is “not zero sum”. People are referring to the transaction and creation of said economic product and the economic actors in the economy at the current point in time. What they mean is a “transaction” in the game where I trade you an extra pizza for your extra shoe results in both of us receiving a net gain. My claim is that this transaction does not result in a net gain because both products are tied to a limited resource whether it be material or energy. You took a piece of the energy pie now someone else has no pie.

neonological 6y ago

1. Except your model is missing an extremely important figure. Modern economies thrive off of the energy variable. This is not some missing detail, it is critical. 2. No it is useful and highly practical. See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26352352 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26352352 3. Energy is limited in the amount that arrives from the sun per day and the amount we have the ability to extract from the earth and the sun and the wind per day. The limit is evident by the fact you have to pay for it. If it were unlimited, your energy bill would be zero. There does exist products on earth that while not technically unlimited can be practically considered unlimited. One such example is the air you breath. Energy is NOT an example of this.

hippira 6y ago

I want to chip in here and say that accouting for limited resources in an economic model is definitely useful, because the negate ( not accounting for limited resources ) has led to the environmental disaster that we find ourselves in right now.

incongruity 6y ago
That’s an eminently reasonable proposition but that is far far from insisting on dogmatic application of a zero-sum rule where it demonstrably does not apply. One of the most interesting proofs of this is the measurable change in the Earth’s albedo due to climate change (and the downward spiral that creates). If we can demonstrate notable changes in how much energy is retained or lost, globally, that destroys the notion of this being a closed system. Similarly, the sun itself is known to be variable in its total energy output so there is no reasonable assurance of a constant amount of energy into or out of our global system. We can’t really control how much energy is produced but it is false to assert that all energy is used as well - there is notable margin for good or for bad here - and because of that, the zero-sum claim is just silly.
- neonological 6y ago
  What confuses people is the fact that for many things if energy isn’t used it is actually completely lost, hence people believe that this “lost” energy constitutes a possible unlimited potential supply. Sure it can constitute such a thing if you can find a way to utilize this lost energy. Currently there’s no way to utilize hence it’s not a factor. Ephemeral supply and wasted energy only limits supply even further. Here’s a very simple way to think about it that gets rid of the associated complexities : The fact that you pay for energy and the fact that energy outages can occur when usage exceeds supply means that energy is limited and therefore zero sum. In fact the attempt to try to reason your way to another conclusion is the silly endeavor. The economy is zero sum because the actual key measurement of all economic goods is the lowering of entropy which is directly done by energy utilization which is directly limited.
  - malandrew 6y ago
    The economy is a concept that exists strictly on Earth (until someone like Musk colonizes Mars). A huge portion of our energy comes from the Sun both in the form of plant matter from agriculture and from solar power as we increasingly build solar panels to harvest the Sun's energy. The simple fact that we can take this exogenous source of energy and feed it into our economy to grow it means that yes, it's zero sum if you consider the Universe, but from the perspective of the economy here on Planet Earth, that economy getting energy for free and grow in excess of your zero sum thinking.
    - neonological 6y ago
      No. First off net useable energy is constantly decreasing in the universe. Entropy will always increase until all energy available for use in the universe is zero. The universe is not a zero sum game. It is negative and in the end everyone loses. The earth receives energy from the sun at a limited rate. The limit on the rate and limits on our technology in order to extract this energy functions as a practical limit. Zero sum games are used colloquially in the context of transactional games. When a resource is limited in this context the game is zero sum. Someone loses during the creation and exchange of an economic product. The context of increasing technology or resource discovery is separate from this topic and not what people mean when they say the economy is “not zero sum”. People are referring to the transaction and creation of said economic product and the economic actors in the economy at the current point in time. What they mean is a “transaction” in the game where I trade you an extra pizza for your extra shoe results in both of us receiving a net gain. My claim is that this transaction does not result in a net gain because both products are tied to a limited resource whether it be material or energy. You took a piece of the energy pie now someone else has no pie.