They are much older than the universe.

[poita]

I get a bit sick of hearing science facts that are used to relate the 'insignificance' of human kind. I happen to think we are pretty cool (in principle and potential that is if you dicount all the wars and stuff.)<br /> It occured to me that if you calculate the collective age of the population of North America (Mexico, USA & Canada) it turns out that they are older than the universe.<br /> Actually I didn't get the exact figure but it's there abouts. If it comes up short just throw in Central America <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br />

 

[mooware]

Yeah, we are pretty cool. Well, I am anyway. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />We are as important as everything/anyone else in the universe. But not more important. (taken in context of course)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[poita]

er, dude, you need to have a few beers and relax a little.<br /> Not every fun statement needs to be crushed and ground into fine dust particles by the superior intellect you know. <br /> Now and again you can let things slide in the name of frivolity. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[vogon13]

Poita, meet Chew_on_this,<br /><br />Chew_on_this, meet Poita.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#ff0000"><strong>TPTB went to Dallas and all I got was Plucked !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#339966"><strong>So many people, so few recipes !!</strong></font></p><p><font color="#0000ff"><strong>Let's clean up this stinkhole !!</strong></font> </p> </div>

 

[5stone10]

<font color="yellow">er, dude, you need to have a few beers...</font><br /><br />That, I'm afraid, could be the problem! <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" />

 

[igorsboss]

...And if you add up all the temperatures of all the cities in the U.S., we'd be hotter than the surface of the sun.<br /><br />Bovine scatology, for sure!

 

[CalliArcale]

Although some find the exercise frivolous, I kinda like those kinds of statistical quirks. It's fun. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> Thanks, Poita, for sharing that! So our collective age, if we add it all up, is greater than the age of the Universe? Neat! That's an awful lot of collected experience, even if it was mostly acquired in parallel over a period of less than a century. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />(Of course, whether that "collected experience" is really as awesome as the age of the universe raises the ghastly specter of the "mythical man-month" that plagues engineers. Managers may think that if one person can do a job in three weeks, three people should be able to do it in one, but it never works out that way.) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[chew_on_this]

<font color="yellow">There are intelligent ways of being humorous and then there are the ignorant ways seeming to be so. The latter are rather blatant around here. and the pretenders try to divert attention from their general lack of education by telling others to 'lighten up'. viz. become as ignorant and careless as they are.</font><br /><br />I resemble that remark. Well, some of it anywho. Is that intelligent enough humour for you? <br />

 

[Saiph]

Oddly enough steve, I also think you should lighten up a bit. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p align="center"><font color="#c0c0c0"><br /></font></p><p align="center"><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">--------</font></em></font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">----</font></em></font><font color="#666699">SaiphMOD@gmail.com </font><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">-------------------</font></em></font></p><p><font color="#999999"><em><font size="1">"This is my Timey Wimey Detector.  Goes "bing" when there's stuff.  It also fries eggs at 30 paces, wether you want it to or not actually.  I've learned to stay away from hens: It's not pretty when they blow" -- </font></em></font><font size="1" color="#999999">The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[poita]

Steve my post put a smile on Calli's face. It can't be cancelled out by the frown on yours.<br /> While MR Spock often gave valuable contributions to solving problems it was Kirk who had the insights and got them solved. Why do I get the feeling you were raised on Vulcan.<br /> As to your comment. I didn't know there was a rule on this site that steely intellect was the price of admission. <br /> A fun post like this can be taken in the spirit, which it was started in. And in fact, it also has a useful function. As most people perceive time in terms of human life spans it can help sometimes to show that even geological time is a relative blink in the great scheme of things. Even the total age of the universe is not the ultimate measurement of time.<br /> Just as there is a science to art there is also an art to science.<br /> Go ahead, try it. Be a bit silly for once while using a finely tuned mind to make it silly 'and' fascinating. I promise it won't hurt.<br />

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I know a good man at Aerojet in SoCal and as he works with engineers, he says much the same. The managerial facts are pretty clear. The more people working on the same part of the same project, the less gets done. The fewer working on it, seems to increase the odds of a project getting done on time. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />I don't want to digress any more, but you may be interested in the book "The Mythical Man-Month", by Frederick P Brooks, Jr. (No I don't have that memorized; I've got a copy on my desk. <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> ) if you haven't already read it. It's about software project management, but many of the principles are applicable to other engineering disciplines. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>