Ever heard of The Infinite Monkey Theorem? It goes something like this: Given infinite time, a monkey banging randomly on typewriter keys would reproduce a given work, such as Hamlet. Variations of the theorem add more monkeys to reproduce more works, such as the complete plays of Shakespeare, or all the books in the British [...]
“On the highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for food. And the anger began to ferment. . . . In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.” (The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck, 1939) “What goes around comes around. . [...]
I admit it. I’m a worrier. Lately, I’m worried that while stories about movie stars and politicians dominate the news, more important things go underreported. The collapsing economy has gotten coverage, but what about the crooks who caused it? The public discussion of subjects like climate change and peak oil has been juvenile. Have you seen much in the news about disappearing fertile soil, decreasing food production and storage, acidic and dying oceans, overpopulation? And really, have you thought much about the mass extinction of species lately? Well, I’m worrying about all that on your behalf.