Opinion
Crackpots and Genius

New energy pioneers are often also involved in pushing the envelop in other areas of life.  Such involvement should not be shunned but should serve as a sign that someone is cut out to launch a revolutionary technology -- practiced at withstanding the heat.

by Sterling D. Allan
Pure Energy Systems News
Copyright © 2007

Nikola Tesla is increasingly coming into vogue -- a hundred years after he was alive and thoroughly scorned and rejected by his peers.  His recent genius portrayal in The Prestige, the box-office hit of last Fall, is but one example of many that illustrate a new interest in the man who transformed the 20th Century, and who may yet be considered the Father of the 21st Century.

Where would we be without alternating current (AC power), radio, and other wireless methods of communications which Tesla pioneered as the foundational basis for the 20th Century's growth?  Certainly there were other giants among men who helped bring about modern civilization.  Yet Tesla's work forms the very bedrock of the modern infrastructure upon which present technological advancements and are made, and upon which the widespread high standard of living has been achieved.

Yet some of the later innovations he introduced, or which he sought to introduce, have yet to be fully implemented.  Wireless power, freely distributed to all mankind was his prime objective.  (Ref.)  But society was not ready for such a large leap forward.  That later objective is left for our generation to implement.

Some argue that Tesla's other outside-the-box endeavors were largely to blame for his peers rejecting his entire work in his later years.  When during his scientific lectures he started talking about a technology he was developing for communicating with personages on Mars, or another technology for intercepting all incoming missiles, or sending robotic craft to war in the place of soldiers, the consensus of the day was that he had lost his mind.  (Ref., ref.)  The vision of the day, while able to embrace some things, could only progress so much before reaching saturation.

Nevertheless, while his later work has not yet been implemented, his earlier work was so monumental as to thoroughly transform society to a level never before seen in recorded history.

Michael J. Daley points out that at the height of the Roman civilization, society on average enjoyed a lifestyle that amounted to the equivalent of seven slaves continuously working for each individual (at a calculated output of 40 Watts per slave).  But nowadays, with the advent of modern electricity -- thanks largely to Nikola Tesla who made electricity available to the masses --  each person in the United States has the equivalent of 150 slaves working for them, every day, all day.  Daley points out that this abundance emerged beginning from the middle of the 20th century, and that in the century prior roughly matched the height of Roman civilization, in which each person enjoying roughly the equivalent of seven slaves working for them in the form of modern conveniences of the period from 1860 to 1947. (Ref, Berrett, p.10)


A New World

Imagine another leap forward in the next century that matches the leap forward in the past century.  Even for the most enlightened, such a transformation is hard to fathom.

Yet sitting before us today are a myriad of energy and related technologies, each of which hold promise for making such a shift yet again.  We are on the verge of seeing the complete obliteration of poverty worldwide, and the empowerment of the human soul, each person to be able to more fully rise to his or her full potential, no longer just eking out a survival existence.  We are looking at the end of war, the end of conflict, the dawn of a new utopian civilization dreamed of by sages down through the millennia.

That is our destiny, if we embrace it.

We will see an end to the control paradigm that has ruled mankind since recorded history, and the melting away of a greed-based economy rooted in a scarcity mentality.  We are looking at the birthing of a responsible abundance that will transform the earth and all of its inhabitants.

Such a transformation is not going to be the result of energy advancements alone, but will be the result of a convergence of a wide range of disciplines, each shifting the mind-set of mankind to be able to embrace this new world.


Birthing Pangs

During the birthing pangs of this new civilization, there will be plenty of temporary rejection of forward thinking in a wide array of fields, necessary to bring about the transformation.

Five years ago, when I first immersed myself in the field of "free energy," the term "free energy" was almost universally scorned as representing an impossible proposition of creating energy out of nothing.  Yet by presenting accepted technologies such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy as a variation of "free energy", that mentality is gradually changing, and the phrase "free energy" is no longer an automatic turn-off for people who are venturing outside the box of status quo thinking.  (Ref.)  We might not understand how the magnet motor works yet, but the number of claims and the amount of evidence that has been presented that magnets can be arranged to serve as a prime mover, is no longer such a stretch, especially when we remember that the Wright brother's were considered heretics in their day.

Open mindedness is expanding to allow for the support of these emerging technologies.

For several years, at the bottom of three of my energy websites, I have featured a quote that says: ""When you're one step ahead of the crowd you're a genius. When you're two steps ahead, you're a crackpot." -- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, (Feb. 1998)

Next to that quote is another like it: "All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; and Third, it is accepted as self-evident." -- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

Such is an inseparable part of the birthing of major advancements in society.

Free energy is in process of breaking through -- from being violently opposed to becoming self-evident by many.  Certainly the opposition has not ceased, but the level of acceptance has been growing profoundly.


Other Cracked Pots

That principle of people resisting change holds true for all outside-the-box thinking that pioneers fresh frontiers of advancement.

I have found that people who push the envelope when it comes to energy very often also push the envelope in other areas of endeavor, whether it be medicine, extraterrestrial studies, new religious thought, new political solutions, or new relationship paradigms, along with an expose of the shortcomings of the status quo approaches.  They find themselves at odds with mainstream thinkers in a number of areas, and they have gotten used to just holding true to what they believe, and being prudent about when and how to share their advanced understandings.

Furthermore, in the process of pursuing new understandings, it is inevitable that a person will go through phases of entertaining unfounded concepts or even in engaging in behaviors that are viewed as repugnant by most.  It's all part of the growing process -- part of the manure of fertilizing a free thinking mind.

Additionally, everyone comes with a mixed package of strengths and weaknesses.  The chances that a person who you are considering doing business with has idiosyncratic attributes is as likely as the chance that someone on the planet had a birthday today.  We all have chapters in our lives in which we go through weird or low stages and behave in a less than ideal manner.

If you were to round up a room full of new energy researchers, and have any one of them stand up and talk about one of their "other" interests, where they are pushing the envelope; chances are, there would be a good number of people in that room who would be pushed outside their comfort zone, would roll their eyes, shift awkwardly in their seats, and wonder if the person isn't an all-out crack pot.  

One person can only bite off so much in a lifetime, and if confronted with an area where they have not pushed the envelope, they are likely to be put in that uncomfortable spot of rejecting the new proposal just because they are not ready to receive it yet.

Hence the importance that energy discussion groups stay on topic, so as to not veer into areas that are almost sure to raise the ire of some.

Early in the launch of the New Energy Congress, one member resigned over a discussion being had about the Twin Towers and Building Seven in New York being felled by pre-positioned demolition charges.  Even though there is a preponderance of evidence to this effect, and a near majority of mainstream U.S. citizens question the official story being told to them by the government, that information was too much for that member, and he departed, and has not yet returned.

That is why we keep PESWiki.com on the topic of clean energy, and don't veer into other areas of tangential interest by some of the users.


Compassion for Pioneers

This is all highly relevant because it is inevitable that in the process of bringing support for new energy technologies that some of these "extracurricular", non-energy pioneering endeavors are going to come up.  If the people considering involvement are not open minded enough and understanding of this phenomenon in general, they are likely to reject a key player and all his or her work merely because of what appears to be a "skeleton" or two, which in reality may just be a learning experience at worst, and may actually be a profound truth in process of emerging.

Traditional money is therefore not at all likely to be able to stand up in the heat of the fiery kiln of refinement that accompanies someone who brings forth new frontiers.  Traditional businessmen, are likewise prone to shrink before such heat and turn away.

In picking the support team for bringing forth the new, revolutionary, society-changing technology, the attribute of open-mindedness about all things considered "crack pot" (per the above "two steps ahead" definition) is an essential personality trait that should be sought.

The unsavory alternative would be for the perceived "crackpot" to try and whitewash his "other" existence, so that the due diligence process doesn't uncover these "other", "unsavory" endeavors.  However, even if a person completely takes on a new identity, and forsakes the other identity, chances are the "unsavory" "other" endeavors are likely to come up, backfiring profoundly.  "Why didn't you tell us about this?"

If a support team is not amenable to outside-the-box thinking in a wide array of areas at the beginning, then they are not the right team for bringing forth the revolutionary technology, which will require them to have the fortitude to withstand all manner of opposition that they are sure to face, including getting grief about some of the "other crackpot notions" being pursued by some of the team -- something that is bound to come up.

The giants in the field of energy are very often also giants in other fields of pursuit, and are sorely needed to pioneer all of the areas they feel driven to pursue.  They shouldn't be made to feel embarrassed about their other endeavors, but should be valued for what they offer society.


Prudence Still Relevant

At the same time, being a pioneer does not give one license to throw away an attempt to meet people on a level they are ready to receive.  There is such a thing as a person who is too out of order in their life at a given time to be of much use in a team setting.  And many people in the field of free energy tend to fall into that category, due to their not properly processing the rejection, intimidation, name-calling, and other barbs that society is so apt to dish out.  They become their own worst enemies, making it nearly impossible to work with them on any sane or productive level.

That is why one of the ten criteria by which we at the New Energy Congress rate technologies in our Top 100 listing is "politics of science."  How easy are the key people involved with the technology to work with?  That is a relevant question.

However, if a person is a team player to a sufficient extent, then the question of "Do you know about this other craziness he is involved with" should not weigh heavily.  Indeed, if a person is not pushing the envelope in a number of areas, being viewed as a "crackpot" by the mainstream in each area, chances are they are not very interesting, and they themselves have not developed the stamina that such experiences bring, to be able to see the technology through to wide scale adoption.

Indeed, it might be presented as a maxim that all key team players in bringing forth the revolutionary technology, should be demonstrated mavericks, or they are likely to buckle under pressure.  That includes the inventor, the business partners, the CEO, the financiers, and the marketing heads.

New energy will bring a new society, along with the many other pioneering fields that will come forward concurrently.  Those tied to the old society are incompatible, and should not be sought for involvement, even though they might be expert with status quo technologies.

Indeed, surrounding oneself with mavericks is a very rewarding process.  It makes life much more interesting, and fulfilling, and helps make you feel less of an outcast.  Surrounding yourself with other outcasts is what is required for bringing forth the new thing whose time has come.

Mavericks 'R Us, and we're proud of it.  Welcome all mavericks.  Let's do it.

It is time for new energy to emerge, for free energy to be harnessed in a myriad of ways, bringing energy abundance and its associated abundance of life to all mankind.  It's time for abundance to replace scarcity, for cooperation to replace conflict, for new things to be considered, refined, and implemented.