Of course, annual consumption of a material is not the best indicator of its indispensability, but in this case the verdict is clear: as useful and as transformative as post-1950 electronic advances have been, they do not constitute the indispensable material foundations of modern civilization. And while there can be no indisputable ordering of our material needs based on claims of their importance, I can offer a defensible ranking that considers their indispensability, ubiquity, and the demand size. Four materials rank highest on this combined scale, and they form what I have called the four
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