The article on the "Adam Smith Institute Blog" (Feb 2006)

In fact, I do not pretend that scientific progress shall stop because of nuclear peace, only slow down, compared with the preceding era of the full-fledged Western miracle, until the 1970s.

The political unification of Western Europe, which is being strived at since the 1950s, should not per se hamper technological progress. As long as the new EU super-state would be stable and wealthy, and find similar super-states around it, to compete with, science could further go forward. What is needed is a stable and thriving state system. (back to article)




The article in "Géopolitique des Populations" (March 2001)

The first factor is correct, the second is actually economic growth. The articulation of the coastline comes as a cause for both. See the 4p-summary of Le Secret de l'Occident or the introduction to my "rich states system theory". (back to article)

To say "absolutely no commercial success" is a bit misleading, implying that there was next to no sale, which is not true. Le Secret de l'Occident did sell more than thousand copies and is selling further, which is not bad for the French-speaking market, for an unknown author, and for a thick and difficult book. Perhaps a better formulation would be to say that "it did not sell as much as it desserved". (back to article)




The article in "Isis" (December 1999)

Méreuporie: This explanation is slightly misleading. I coined the word méreuporie as a neutral term, to simultaneously describe the political and economic status of a system. A méreuporie is "good" when both stable division and prosperity are present. It is "bad" otherwise: the farther from stable division and thriving economy, the worse the méreuporie. It is a bit like the word "economy", which is neutral. There can be thriving economies as well as slumping economies. (back to article)

Thalassographie: The qualification of it as a "technique" is inaccurate. This word thalassographie which I coined does not mean a "technique", it means the "design of the coastline", like "geography" means the design of the Earth – whatever technique is used to measure it. According to my theory, the quality of a thalassographie is high when the shoreline shape is highly complex and indented. (back to article)

When conditions are present: In the case of North America, the conditions are precisely not present, which goes a long way towards explaining the technological backwardness of the continent's aborigines. Indeed, North America (the artic region excepted) is an enormous, compact, landmass, i.e. it has a bad thalassography. (back to article)

Unchanging scientific disciplines: Only my classification is unchanging. For the sake of clarity, I grouped the fields of knowledge at all periods into their present-day categories (astronomy, physics, chemistry, etc). But I am utterly aware that these categories are anachronisms when talking of pre-modern science. (back to article)

Commercial appeal: Actually, as I emphasize several times, medicine enters the picture for its commercial appeal and for its military interest. Wars bringing both training and governmental support for doctors. (back to article)

The MBA summum of higher learning: A confusion entered here between the merchants and the scientists. The crucial role of the mercantile class in supporting science does not imply that business is science! (back to article)

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