Energy Past, Energy Future

Karl Compton, the American physicist who was for many years president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, liked to tell a story about his sister, who lived in India. She hired an electrician there to make improvements in her house. She didn’t know much about electricity, so she had trouble explaining what she wanted done. Finally she told the man, “Oh, you know what’s needed here. Just use common sense and do it.” He responded, “Alas, madam, common sense is a gift of God. I am a humble soul with only a technical education.”