Author Description

A book speculating on the future of energy and power on our planet and aggregating a variety of statistical sources defies the wisdom of savants accumulated over more than two millennia. Lao Tzu, 6th century BC Chinese poet, opined: "Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge." Andrew Lang, turn of the 20th century Scottish poet, novelist, and passionate anthropologist, added: "Forecasters use statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... For support rather than for illumination." Lastly and most recently, Robert Samuelson, first recipient of the Nobel Prize in economics, quipped: "Economists have predicted nine of the last five recessions."