[SIUYA]

thanks - always interesting, reminds me of the a few things.
1) Einstein - his supposed quote about compound interest being the greatest force in the universe
2) the idea that if you had a gold coin, that supposedly you could compound at about 7% a year since the time of Jesus, then it would be a gold nugget the size of the earth.
3) if you could take a piece of paper and fold it in half, and double it size (lets just assume you could for this experiment), its amazing how few times (it is supposedly only about 64 times) you would need to do so before it reaches the moon in height.

All these things seem crazy - but compounding works.
scalability is another matter.

[MightyMouse]

Originally Posted by SIUYA »

thanks - always interesting, reminds me of the a few things.
1) Einstein - his supposed quote about compound interest being the greatest force in the universe
2) the idea that if you had a gold coin, that supposedly you could compound at about 7% a year since the time of Jesus, then it would be a gold nugget the size of the earth.
3) if you could take a piece of paper and fold it in half, and double it size (lets just assume you could for this experiment), its amazing how few times (it is supposedly only about 64 times) you would need to do so before it reaches the moon in height.

All these things seem crazy - but compounding works.
scalability is another matter.

Actually, if you cut the paper and stack the paper each time 100 times and assume it is 1/10 of a millimeter thick, you'd end up with a stack whose height would reach the projected distance to the edge of the universe, some 10 trillion light years.

[Tradewinds]

To create something good that could perpetually go on into eternity, the whole system must either stay in balance, or be able to return to balance before a "point of no return" occurs. Dr. Bartlett makes the point that zero growth will happen sooner or later. But the question is, will it be forced on us, after the population gets so large that resources become threateningly scarce, or will humans regulate growth before the "point of no return" happens.

High rates of reproduction played an important role in survival when the environment was very harsh, there was high attrition, and a small base population. But we are past that problem. Part of the population growth calculation is dependent upon whether the grandparents live long enough to see their grandchildren. If no more than two generations were alive at one time, and if each couple had two children, the growth rate would be zero. If a man and a woman have two children, those two children replace the two people that brought them into existence. That would be zero growth, IF the parents died before the children had children. But people are living longer.

I think what is going on in the middle east, is related to this issue. The population is getting larger, but much of the population is not doing very well. So, at least part of the population is waging a conflict against the leaders. And the numbers of people who are frustrated are large enough to create a movement.

[Ingot54]

Continuing with the theme of "The Most Important Video Series You'll Ever See"
I think this one qualifies.

You may not live in Honolulu, or even in the Hawaiian Islands, but if you are reading this, chances are you are living near the sea shore somewhere, or within 50 miles of the ocean somewhere on the planet, based statistically on demographics.

This could happen at any time, to any shoreline:

YouTube - Ultimate Tsunami - Honolulu Hawaii

[Ingot54]

If you are enthusiastic and want to see some true reports of the 26th December 2004 Tsunami, then is is worth 30 minutes. Well put together, and anecdotal accounts before and after have been woven into this to reconstruct the disaster.

Real footage, real stories.

YouTube - The Day the Wave Came - 30 min documentary

YouTube - The Day the Wave Came - 30 min documentary

[Ingot54]

Nothing to add here ... the best ... from a life well-lived!

YouTube - ‪Challenges to Pursue‬‏

YouTube - ‪Challenges to Pursue‬‏

[Ingot54]

This might be important now ... but it WILL be important later ...
Remember this was made in 2007 - the man has insight and foresight.

YouTube - ‪The Truth About The Economy: Total Collapse‬‏

YouTube - ‪The Truth About The Economy: Total Collapse‬‏