This video does an awesome job of explaining how we’re able to measure the vast size and scope of objects within the universe. When I watch this I have a couple of initial thoughts.
#1 – Wow. Science really is amazing. Think about how many smart people we have in this world who study the various sciences that all contribute to our greater understanding of the universe and in return ourselves. The study of cosmology is pretty amazing stuff and all rocket scientists in this world should be very proud of the contribution they make to our society. Hat tip to our friends in NASA; they truly are the best of the best and I’m happy to call some of these geniuses my closest friends.
#2 – In economics – you hear about “opportunity cost”. Over the past decade – many of our best and brightest have been working for the financial services industry and hedge funds to soak you dry…to clean out your pockets. Our best and brightest are essentially paid to figure out how make you gamble your money away like a fixed Vegas card game and to have you walk away with not even a shirt on your back. Imagine if all of those mathematical geniuses were able to put their brains to help better society … instead of helping the wolves figure out how to more efficiently slaughter the sheep.
Reuters has a great article on that that you should read called The algorithmic arms race – you can find that HERE:
Winton sends researchers to libraries and archives across the world to find numbers held in books and on microfilms. It has found barley and sesame prices from ancient Babylon, and English wheat prices going back to 1209.
It now employs more than 90 researchers, including extragalactic astrophysicists, computer scientists and climatologists. The company hired a meteorologist who had researched the “El Nino” phenomenon. The physics graduate – Winton wants to keep his name secret for fear a rival might poach him – works in London correlating weather data to crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans. That data can be used to forecast how prices might fluctuate with the weather.
While traders in commodities have long looked at weather statistics and forecasts, the attempt to computerize the process creates the basis of an industry.
