One of the early lessons in Physics is the Conservation of
Energy. Energy comes in two broad categories (forms), kinetic
and potential. Energy can be in either form, and the form can
even be changed. Electric utility companies like to produce
energy when there is little demand, store it, and release it
when demand is high and generators can’t handle the load. One
way of doing this, pumped-storage hydroelectricity is to pump
water to an elevated reservoir. The water at height stores
gravitational potential (weight) energy. That potential is very
stable, only subject to little practical things (like leakage)
that change the potential energy back to kinetic energy. The big
practical thing is releasing water to flow through electric
generator turbines. It is kinetic energy that gets ‘er done.
Potential energy deserves a comparable respect. The precise
language of Physics sometimes uses the same words which are used
rather loosely in other contexts. One such context applies the
phrase ‘potential life‘ to human rep