Lontani dal (senso dell') equilibrio: qualche aspetto cognitivo del nostro modo di vivere nel presente

The role of Cognitive Science and cognition is fundamental to see the social change. Drawing on different sources, this article analyzes aspects of the past and of the current world situation, where erroneous perception, and therefore cognition, of the dangers, has led to the extinction of entire civilizations. The analysis is initially carried out from a linguistic point of view and followed by a more strictly scientific point of view, highlighting in at least two cases the mathematical significance of some variables in play. In particular, we have focused on the depletion of non-renewable natural resources - such as minerals - and on certain cases of recycling that, even when conducted in the most virtuous way, never leads to a complete reuse of matter. This means that every recycle passage will lose a small but increasing proportion of materials that need to be reintegrated. So, even where our perception/cognition causes us not to disturb us, the problem is present, albeit unclear. The second case discussed here is the net recoverable energy from a source. We define the acronym Eroei (Energy Return on Energy Invested) and we show graphically that, even if we are near the limit of the load capacity of an (eco) system, net power is still high. This means walking unconscious close to the barracks - see the first part with linguistic examples - or, if you prefer, being among those who are celebrating on the Titanic dance hall, few minutes before the crash. Finally, a possible explanation, always graphic, of this modus operandi: in a chart that has close to the origin of the Cartesian axes the life closest to us in terms of space (family, city, neighborhood, race, country, world) and time (days, few years, life expectancy, future generations), human beings are all close to the origin of the axes.