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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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 Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 5:14 am Post subject: What "number" really astounds and confounds you? |
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There are some numbers, statistics and statements that we just can't deal with, fathom or really offer a reply towards. They just numb us and freeze us and overwhelm.....
I"ve always been astounded by the fact that we humans kill millions of microorganisms with each breath. Life itself it seems is supported by death.
Some may know I'm fond of TED Talks. (use my player with new feeds http://eflclassroom.com/tedtalks.htm if you have some down time)
Chris Jordan, a visual artists, brings numbers to life in a very impassioned talk. Take a look, amazing stats and he argues for us to pay attention to these numbers that "numb" us.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/chris_jordan_pictures_some_shocking_stats.html
Jonathan Harris is another genius when it comes to quantifying the unquantifiable...his work is incomparable. I highly recommend his We feel fine project. www.number27.org/
And of course there is Harper's Index. Here's Sept.
What numbers really rock you? .......
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Harper�s Index - Sept 08
Estimated value of U.S. economic growth lost due to the global credit crisis : $2,000,000,000,000 (see page 35)
Portion of U.S. subprime mortgage buyers since 2003 who might have qualified for a prime mortgage : 3/5
Number of times that speakers at the Republican National Convention said the word �economy� : 31
Number of times they referred to President Bush by name : 1
Minimum number of reporters who traveled to Wasilla, Alaska, in the two weeks following Sarah Palin�s selection as VP : 90
Estimated number of votes that Oprah Winfrey�s endorsement swung to Barack Obama�s primary campaign : 1,015,559
Amount that corporate donors to both conventions have spent lobbying Congress since 2005 : $1,316,151,129
Minimum amount the U.S. government has paid contractors in the Middle East since 2003 : $8,200,000,000
Total value of federal small-business contracts obtained by Blackwater between 2005 and 2007 : $110,000,000
Percentage of former terrorist groups worldwide that stopped operating because of military force used against them : 7
Percentage that stopped because they had achieved their stated goals : 10
Percentage of Afghans who say they would support a coalition government that included the Taliban : 54
Chances that an Israeli Arab says he or she would rather live in Israel than anywhere else : 3 in 4
Average number of religions practiced in each world nation : 32
Estimated number in Papua New Guinea, which has the most : 648
Percentage of U.S. doctors who think God has the power to cure a fatally injured patient : 20
Chance that a U.S. conservative today believes church leaders should be involved in politics : 1 in 2
Chances in 2004 : 7 in 10
Percentage of Americans in 2006 who were �not at all� confident that President Bush had won reelection �fair and square� : 32
Minimum number of Brazilians running for political office this year under the name �Obama� : 5
Date on which the U.S. must leave its only South American military installation, by order of Ecuador, its host : 11/12/09
Date on which Playgirl magazine will become an online-only publication : 11/18/08
Amount that Paris Hilton�s parents have donated to John McCain�s campaign : $4,600
Amount the co-founder of the gay dating website Manhunt has : $2,300
Number of registered users on AshleyMadison.com, a site for people who �want to explore the new infidelity� : 2,540,000
Number of scenes of or references to sex between a married couple shown during an average week of NBC programming : 1
Number showing or referencing adultery or sex with minors, respectively : 1, 1
Chances that a U.S. woman who gives birth is unmarried at the time : 2 in 5
Minimum number of children in the United States who have at least one parent in the country illegally : 5,100,000
Average number of new federal crimes that Congress creates each year : 56
Chance that a 411 call in the United States is handled by a federal prisoner : 1 in 136
Number of marijuana plants found under cultivation inside Miami�s Mall of the Americas in August : 360
Average number of hours per week that an American and a Chinese person, respectively, spend shopping : 4, 10
Number of the 77 applications to protest during the Beijing Olympics this summer that were denied : 1
Number that were withdrawn by the petitioners or suspended for incorrect paperwork : 76
Number of South Koreans pardoned by the country�s president on August 15 : 341,864
Total votes cast online last fall to decide which Thanksgiving turkeys President Bush should pardon : 27,726
Margin by which U.S. dog owners favor John McCain over Barack Obama : 43�34
Margin by which Americans would rather watch football with Obama than with McCain : 50�47
Number of free tattoos of Obama�s face given out so far by a body artist in Moore, Oklahoma : 300
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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Jandar
Joined: 11 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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| ....and this is a current event because... |
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VanIslander
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Location: Geoje, Hadong, Tongyeong,... now in a small coastal island town outside Gyeongsangnamdo!
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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Big_Bird
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Jandar wrote: |
| ....and this is a current event because... |
I can see how it may be of interest to some of the regulars of this forum. Go away if you don't like the thread. |
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RJjr
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Location: Turning on a Lamp
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:52 pm Post subject: Re: What "number" really astounds and confounds yo |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
What numbers really rock you? .......
Number of registered users on AshleyMadison.com, a site for people who �want to explore the new infidelity� : 2,540,000
Number of marijuana plants found under cultivation inside Miami�s Mall of the Americas in August : 360 |
The first one rocks me... 2,540,000 people have registered on the website and I haven't even heard of her website and don't even know what she looks like?
The second one is almost as shocking. All of the foreclosed homes and available square footage in Miami and people are using a mall instead?? |
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Big_Bird
Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: Sometimes here sometimes there...
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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Yes. That number distresses me on occasions! |
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BS.Dos.
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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To measure is to know. - Lord Kelvin
Thanks for sharing DD. Really interesting.
I think Jordan's work is really effective and I really get his point about the way society doesn't really comprehend big numbers in any meaningful quantitative way ($700 Billion? $2 Trillion? What is that exactly?). Hearing about the 40 odd million paper cups that are thrown away per day doesn't convey the same degree of enourmity in the way that a picture, some 42 stories high and a few hundred feet across does. Is it powerful enough to change consumer habits though I wonder?
I also liked how he closed and didn't take the usual moral high-ground regarding "saving the planet" etc, but tactfully reminded the audience of our obligations to future generations.
Last edited by BS.Dos. on Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:07 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 1:55 am Post subject: |
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Your much obliged BS.Dos.,
I also found his manner and in particular the ending of the speech as "thought provoking". Not the same trite stuff we get all the time but genuine and spirited.....
Here are some more amazing numbers and logical deduction....
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1. A total of 4000 cans are opened around the world every second
2. Ten babies are conceived around the world every second
3. Each time you open a can, you stand a 1 in 400 chance of becoming pregnant |
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com
PS. Van Islander - 0 puts me into much distress also! And to think we didn't even have the conception of this for millennia! |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 1:56 am Post subject: |
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RJ jr. wrote
The first one rocks me... 2,540,000 people have registered on the website and I haven't even heard of her website and don't even know what she looks like? |
But it is self evident why you don't know about the site!
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
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Bibbitybop
Joined: 22 Feb 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:04 am Post subject: |
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| 4 8 15 16 23 42 |
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lonestar
Joined: 20 Aug 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:38 am Post subject: |
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| ddeubel, thanks for posting The Economist. One of my favorite mags, but not always easy to find. |
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PeteJB
Joined: 06 Jul 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 5:39 am Post subject: |
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This number
We have 38139 registered users |
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I_Am_The_Kiwi
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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bacasper
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:53 pm Post subject: |
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$2 Quadrillion
The total potential cost of the financial bailout to the U.S. taxpayer is already rapidly approaching $5 trillion, over seven times as much as the meaningless $700 billion bailout bill figure.
Analysts have previously marked out the $5 trillion figure as the actual cost, now those predictions are becoming demonstrably accurate.
Meanwhile, Hank Paulson has defended government intervention, stating �There�s no doubt that the way to get the maximum bang for the taxpayers here was to invest in banks.�
Based on this Reuters summary and the sources linked within the table, here is a breakdown of the bailout�s cost to taxpayers so far.
Bailout Type - Cost To Taxpayers
Pelosi�s latest economic-stimulus package - $300 billion
Paulson�s Bank Nationalization package - $250billion
Bailout to the American car companies - $25 billion
Nancy Pelosi�s bailout of the state and local governments - $150 billion
Financial �bailout� bill - $700 billion+
Bear Stearns financing - $29 billion
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nationalization - $200 billion
AIG loan and nationalization - $85 billion (+ extra request of $35 billion)
Federal Housing Administration housing rescue bill - $300 billion
Mortgage community grants - $4 billion
JPMorgan Chase repayments - $87 billion
Loans to banks via Fed�s Term Auction Facility - $200 billion+
Loans from Depression-era Exchange Stabilization Fund - $50 billion
Purchases of mortgage securities by Fannie/Freddie - $144 billion
________________________________________________________
POSSIBLE TOTAL $2.56 trillion+
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS PER U.S. CENSUS 105,480,101
POSSIBLE COST PER HOUSEHOLD $24,269
In addition, the U.S. government has said it will temporarily guarantee $1.5 trillion (�856 billion) in new senior debt issued by banks, as well as insure $500 billion (�285 billion) in deposits in non-interest accounts, mainly used by businesses.
These figures take the potential cost to $4.559 trillion+ - or $43,221 per household.
Furthermore, when you account for the fact that the credit default swap market is around $62 trillion, and that derivatives worldwide are worth between between $1 and $2 quadrillion, the numbers start to become meaningless. |
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