A sense of scale.

What does scale mean? Human scale is that we can comprehend. That beyond our scale is almost by definition beyond human. I was involved yesterday in a discussion of literature of energy. Just the fact that such a course can exist in this world is inspiring, but that's not what this is about.

We were disucssing what is the appropriate use of energy and how we can find the right balance between use and abuse. In that discussion we were considering small, personal photovoltaic systems (like Big Thunder's) to a huge commercial powerplant. The solar PV is human scale. Each element can be picked up and handled by a one person. In comparison, even a small powerplant (coal, gas, geothermal) is so much bigger and incomprehensible. Scale allows us to see our own level and to reach beyond to larger dimensions, to carry us beyond our limiations.