This follows up a discussion, in Challenge Lecture 7(1) of 16July26, about the energy demands of AI in comparison to that of the brain. A recent IEEE Spectrum article happens to address the same point - that brains are super efficient, by at least 3 orders of magnitude compared with the most optimistic interpretation of AI capabilities, and by many more orders of magnitude compared with pessimistic interpretations. See - https://spectrum.ieee.org/artificial-neurons-on-silicon-chips So brains are astonishing, in what they achieve with so little energy. The article is techie, about how a future AI might become more like brains in energy efficiency, delving into the semiconductor-physics of MOSFET transistors. It hinges on the presence of a fourth connection in those transistors, compared with three connections in bipolar transistors. I encountered that fourth connection many years ago and, like everybody else, I wired it up in the recognised way that neutralised any actions the connection might cause - actions which were considered spurious and uncontrolled in manufacture. The article talks of how these ‘spurious’ actions can make the single MOSFET like a brain neuron, consuming far less energy than neuron-simulation in either conventional hardware or software. Very early days, because no-one has yet interconnected these four-terminal MOSFET ‘neurons’ to do anything brain-like, or be able to process language. So mega-power consumption remains likely for AI in the foreseeable future - a problem Steve highlighted. The energy inefficiency of AI is a basic reason why I doubt that what it does it copies what our brains do.

I think it was the economist Romer who said that orthodox economics is methodologically unself-aware. Steve’s lectures on methodology are therefore particularly relevant. I knew that Karl Popper, as Steve explained, didn’t properly describe the methods of science. But I didn’t know some things that I subsequently saw in Wikipedia’s page on Popper - that he was a firm opponent of those alternative routes to knowledge (variants of epistemology, the theory of knowledge) that were not based on empirical testing. He argued for falsification-through-test rather than confirmation-by-selective-observation that characterised the inductivist method of classical science. I therefore also read Wikipedia’s voluminous page on epistemology, which says - “Epistemology explores how people should acquire beliefs.”. I was surprised by how many different variants of that ‘how’ the page goes on to describe, such as ‘justification’, ‘rationality’, ‘contextualism’, ’skepticism’, ‘internalism, ‘externalism’ and ‘empiricism’ among others. Later it says - According to the correspondence theory of truth, to be true means to stand in the right relation to the world by accurately describing what it is like. This means that truth is objective: a belief is true if it corresponds to a fact.” and then “The coherence theory of truth says that a belief is true if it belongs to a coherent system of beliefs. A result of this view is that truth is relative since it depends on other beliefs.”. So ideas that are coherent can - in the ‘coherence’ definition- be seen as true even if they don’t correspond to reality.. I confess to shock at just how much of a ‘loose-fit’ to reality some of these methodologies about knowledge allow themselves to be. I guess science may have made me naive, in the sense that C P Snow was on about …

The best way to describe my encounter with Dr Keen is from my what’s app messages below: I requested Wong Chan Min Principal to view Dr Keen’s YouTube “On the Origins of Energy Blindness” with a self torturing remark saying that I encountered another “stupid” guy like me. The reply was: [21:07, 13/02/2024] Wong Chan Min Principal: Datuk Hong, this professor is similar to you. For him neo classical economics is wrong tracked, whereas your MiT debunked wealth creation theories from classical economics to neo classical. [08:27, 15/02/2024] Wong chan min Principal: Datuk, say more about it after spending two solid hours listening and realizing there was another “stupid” being like you. Yes, it should be kind of Deja Vu for you. Both of you are the modern day of either Newton or Leibniz. Have you contacted your alter ego? If not by now you should have secured his book. So much for one hour listening. [16:21, 15/02/2024] Wong chan min Principal: Only one and one factor of production: Energy. Labor without energy is corpse, capital without energy is statue. [16:24, 15/02/2024] Wong chan min Principal: Datuk, you might as well send him your work for comments. You could possibly share his Nobel Prize, if ever awarded. [16:44, 15/02/2024] Wong chan min Principal: That's the effort from more than two hours listening. He's revising my acquired knowledge of economics. So nothing news except the comments I made.

For 3 months, shipping in the Gulf has basically flatlined 😬 While the news covers the political peace deals, the real macroeconomic crisis is the quiet depletion of global reserves. We've spent 90 days burning through our backups of 3 critical inputs: helium for tech, sulphur dioxide for manufacturing, and fertilizer for farming. The fighting might be pausing, but the global supply shocks are just starting. Steve just put out a solid breakdown explaining how this supply chain squeeze works and why it will reshape the market. It's a must-watch if you want the actual data instead of political spin 🔥: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2VjUB9dhG8&views Which sector do you think feels this inventory pinch first? 👇

Younger Skool members may not believe it but, at the weekends around town when I was young, there would often be someone walking around carrying a sandwich-board-frame on their shoulders with the message, written in big, bold letters “Repent - for the End is Nigh”. Of course, the intent was a religious one. A recent article makes me wonder if any Californians are soon going to be doing likewise, carrying the same message but with a different interpretation and target attached to the word “Repent”. California is set to experience climate change in big, bold reality. See - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/01/snowmelt-american-west