Tom Murphy

Tom Murphy is a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. An amateur astronomer in high school, physics major at Georgia Tech, and PhD student in physics at Caltech, Murphy has spent decades reveling in the study of astrophysics. He currently leads a project to test General Relativity by bouncing laser pulses off of the reflectors left on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts, achieving one-millimeter range precision. Murphy’s keen interest in energy topics began with his teaching a course on energy and the environment for non-science majors at UCSD. Motivated by the unprecedented challenges we face, he has applied his instrumentation skills to exploring alternative energy and associated measurement schemes. Following his natural instincts to educate, Murphy is eager to get people thinking about the quantitatively convincing case that our pursuit of an ever-bigger scale of life faces gigantic challenges and carries significant risks.

Note from Tom: To learn more about my personal perspective and whether you should dismiss some of my views as alarmist, read my Chicken Little page.

evidence

Evidence, please?

Modernity (even if defining starting 10,000 years ago) is a short-lived phase that will self-terminate—likely starting this century.

October 1, 2024

Pope Pius IX

Certainty

So, yes, I can be reasonably certain that modernity is self-terminating as a short-lived, unusual, demonstrably destructive mode of living that is reliant on one-time resources and not at all integrated into the only real form of life-support on the planet: ecological reciprocity.

September 25, 2024

bookcover

The Big Question

“Humans would fare the best, maximize happiness, satisfaction, and longevity of their species by recognizing their forgotten ecological context and moving toward fully-integrated reciprocal, respectful relationships with the Community of Life and the more-than-human, biodiverse world of Evolved Life.

September 18, 2024

rescuing vegetables from flood

MM #18: What Can I Do?

Faced with the towering set of concerns raised in this series, and the glaring unsustainability of modernity—which is not only familiar and comfortable, but seemingly essential for modern survival—it is natural that a top-of-mind question for many is: What Can I Do?

September 3, 2024

the sun through grass

MM #17: Being Human

Here, I attempt to paint a picture of how we might think of ourselves as humans on this planet, as integral members of the community of life.

August 29, 2024

man in sunset

MM #16: Recap and Mythology

Modernity is a sort of flight-of-fancy: a mode that our flexible brains allowed us to pursue, while lacking sufficient cognitive power to really understand what it means or think it all through.

August 26, 2024

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