Borrowing Light: the History of Human Civilization Driven by Energy

The moment we turn on the light, start the car, or click on the screen of our mobile phone, we think we have control over the world. However, in this extremely enlightening book, the author tears apart the facade of modern civilization and tells us a cold truth: human history is essentially a history of "borrowed light". From the up to 90% logistics energy loss when Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, to the extravagance of the Roman nobles who burned down the forest for bathing; from the hat in Watt's hand that changed the world, to the wandering of Bitcoin mining machines around the world... This book uses accessible short stories to reveal how energy conversion efficiency determines the rise and fall of civilization. We do not live in the information age, we live in the carbon-based age. Every click and every consumption we make consumes the earth's savings of hundreds of millions of years. This is a book about how the laws of physics shape human society. It not only explains why the Qin Empire collapsed, but also predicted the energy crisis behind artificial intelligence. After reading this book, you will put on glasses called "energy", re-examine this prosperous world built by watts and bits, and understand the eternal truth: all overdrafts will eventually be repaid.