CONTRARY BRIN: Convergence: rethinking a lot of assumptions

As I prep for a (hopefully) minor medical procedure, here’s an early weekend posting, to keep y’all from going too ravenous!

Here’s an article about phosphorous recycling – including pee-recovery, in the New Yorker.  “Rich Earth’s Urine Nutrient Reclamation Program’s restrooms are equipped with four kinds of urine-diverting toilets.” Um as I described and predicted almost two decades ago in my novel Existence.  Morocco has over 70% of the world’s phosphate reserves. And soon the King of Morocco will be richest person on Earth. Florida used to have the large phosphate deposits, now almost gone.

New insights into earth’s structure: The predominant geological model of our planet incorporates four distinct layers: a crust and a mantle (composed largely of silicate minerals) and an outer core and inner core composed of nickel-iron. Now a team reports finding evidence for another distinct layer (a solid metal ball) in the center of Earth’s inner core – an “innermost inner core.”

Meanwhile…