The Fastest Power Wins

Released on June 26, 2024, the Far Middle episode 162 arrives on the anniversary of baseball legend Frank Robinson’s June 26, 1970, double grand slam game. Nick uses the connection to reflect on the 1982 Hall of Fame inductee’s powerful career, both on and off the field. Following Robinson in the episode’s lineup is a discussion on the rising demand for electricity driven by the growth of data centers for AI across the U.S. This power demand clashes with current energy policies that prioritize intermittent renewable energy over reliable sources like natural gas. The result is compromised grid reliability and increased energy costs, which will challenge the tech industry’s growth. “You cannot adopt draconian net zero plans and climate alarmism ideology, and at the same time hope to be able to grow the data center and AI economy at an efficient pace—mutually exclusive under the laws of math and physics,” says Nick.  Staying on the topic of climate alarmism ideology, Nick connects to New Jersey’s multi-year effort to infuse climate change into its primary and high school science curriculum, and more recently the state is incorporating climate change into all school subjects. “New Jersey public schools are now religious institutions,” says Nick. And while New Jersey schools focus on indoctrinating students into the religion of radical environmentalism and climate alarmism, student proficiency rates in English, math, and science are declining sharply. Nick then pivots to the power the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has over the Catholic Church, criticizing Pope Francis for compromising with the CCP. “The Vatican surrenders more and more to China and the CCP simply to keep the optics of a good relationship alive,” says Nick. In closing, Nick makes a final connection to June 26, which is also the birthday of British mathematician, physicist, and engineer William Thompson, also known as Lord Kelvin. Born in 1824, Thompson’s numerous scientific contributions include creating the absolute temperature scale, now known as the Kelvin scale. Thompson was also involved in the laying of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, serving “as a founding father connection to the artificial intelligence industry of today,” says Nick as he ends on “a science history connection that Dr. James Burke would be proud of.”