The content explores the vast spectrum of probabilities in life, from the astronomically unlikely to the near certainties, using paradoxes and statistical examples to illustrate the often counter-intuitive nature of reality and human perception. It emphasizes that while many events have incredibly low odds, they are not impossible, and our fears are often disproportionate to actual risks.
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in life Anything is Possible
because we can never fully understand
how the world works and the laws of
physics prevent us from being able to
tell the future everything we predict is
a probability
some are a lot more probable others are
less probable while some have
astronomically low chances of ever happening
happening
the probability is vanishingly small but
it remains non-zero would you get hit by
a car well you get struck by lightning
will we ever achieve world peace
if there is a chance that anything can happen
happen
what are the odds
I was scrolling through the deepest
parts of the internet one day when I
came across this man Roy Cleveland
Sullivan the man who has been hit by
lightning seven times in his lifetime
the odds of getting struck by lightning
once isn't that low it's just about one
in fifteen thousand even if you live in
a small town chances are that somebody
in that town has been struck by
lightning at least once
the odds of being struck seven times in
a period of 80 years
that's a 1 in 10 to the 28 chance
this seems like such incredible and
unfortunate odds until you consider the
fact that you're more likely to get
struck by lightning seven times than you
are to shuffle a deck of cards into
perfect numerical order
those odds 1 in 10 to the 68.
probability is something that we can't
really comprehend as humans if we did
we'd stop worrying about a lot of things
and stop taking granted for most of the
things we should be worried about like sharks
sharks
no thanks to the movie Jaws humans now
have an immense fear of sharks but the
reality is you're more likely to get
killed by a vending machine than you are
to get killed by a shark
the odds of getting killed by a vending
machine are 1 in 112 million while the
odds of getting killed by a shark are
staggering 1 in 250 million
now the odds that you'll be attacked by
a shark are much lower at 1 in 3.7
million but even that is still too high
for the monsters with branded sharks to be
be
for context you're more likely to get
killed by a dog at a 1 in 112 400 chance
then you already get killed by a shark
but we still keep them in our homes as
loving pets
you're more likely to get killed by
Hornets wasps or bees at 1 in 63 225
then you already get killed by a shark
in fact you're more likely going to get
killed by the government for committing
murder at 1 in 119 000 then you are of
getting killed by a shark
when you put a little thought into it
you realize that most of the time our
fears are Sensational and not rational
when something tragic happens and it
Garners a lot of public attention we are
more likely to be afraid of that thing
even if it is much less common than the
less notorious things
the most prominent example of this is
the way we treat plane crashes
no yes when planes do crash it is tragic
but because they cause such a big
spectacle and have lots of media
coverage we forget that it is still by
far the safest way to travel
passenger airplane incidents are very
rare and your odds of dying in a plane
crash are very slim at 1 in 205 000
that's incredibly low when you compare
it to your odds of dying in a car
accident which is just one in 107. for
motorcycle riders it's 1 in 890 and even
pedestrians aren't safe at one in 541.
but wait maybe the reason the airplane
deaths are so low has to do something
with our fear
before people go on an airplane they
usually prepare well in advance no
harmful objects are allowed on board and
there's always usually more than one
designated pilot who has trained for
years on safety practices before they
were ever allowed to fly a plane
compare that to road travel where we
don't really think that much about it
and you can maybe see why things are the
way they are
and with the odds that you'll be
involved in a drunk driving accident in
your lifetime being incredibly high at
two and three you can see what I mean we
barely give it any thought
hopefully we can all do better
try to reduce the risk by simply
designating a driver beforehand or
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our story
another thing we should be worried about
is right-handed appliances yes it's true
that most of the world is right-handed
for some reason but if we're learning
anything as a species it's inclusiveness
we must do the same with dominant hands
because as it is the odds of a
left-handed person dying simply because
they used a right-handed Appliance wrong
is one in seven million and while the
chances look ridiculously slim it has to
happen to somebody
if you don't die hey you'll get a lot of
free money from that lawsuit
the ambidextrous people among us can
help us decide what appliances are
better suited for what dominant hand and
we have a surprising amount of them 1 in
100 to be exact
now this does not include people who
have had to learn how to use their
non-dominant hand because of injury or
out of curiosity it's just people who
are born with an amazing control of both
of their hands
art is very subjective what some people
might find beautiful others will find
ugly what one might consider great
acting others might see it as over the
top and annoying
you see much unlike science art doesn't
have a definitive set of rules and so
they don't have a strict guideline for
judgment either and while this allows
for creativity it also makes it very
difficult to find success in the world
of the Arts
if you want to be a surgeon for instance
you know that if you pass the med school
exams in turn go through residency and
so forth you'll make it you have a set
path to follow
but if you want to be a supermodel or a
rock star or a YouTuber
it's not that straightforward you have
to work hard at it every single day and
even then your odds are very slim
you can be a theater kid all your life
go to film school practice as much as possible
possible
but in the end the odds that you'll
become a movie star aren't very
encouraging that's just one in 1.1 million
million
it's amazing so that even with the odds
as Slim as this every year thousands of
people will travel from all parts of the
world to La trying to fulfill their
dreams of being on the big screen
when interestingly you have a much
better chance of winning an Oscar at
just one in 11 500 then becoming a movie star
star
but of course this Oscar includes all
the technical awards that are given when
everyone is taking a bathroom break and
most people would much rather take a 1
in 1.1 million chance than to receive an
award when no one's watching
if you're a writer however the odds are
slightly in your favor
there is a one in 220 chance that you'll
write a New York Times bestseller if you
put in the time and the effort necessary
these odds are definitely going to go up
bringing you that inch closer to making
your dream a reality
sports store closer related to science
than Arts because most of the time if
you work at it hard enough you'll
achieve some kind of success but how
hard can you work when there's only so
many medals to go around
millions of people around the world
dedicate their entire lives to competing
in the Olympics yet only one in 662 000
will ever win a medal
and that's the thing about scarcity when
there's such limited space the odds of
ever being able to do or acquire said
thing just gets increasingly thinner
think about the number of children who
have worn a space suit and helmet to
career day in school and told everybody
that they want to be astronauts now
think about the fact that the odds of
becoming an astronaut are one in 12.1
million and you get sad for those little
kids whose dreams will one day have to
be crushed
what if they wanted to be president
well the chance of becoming a U.S
president is one in 10 million unless
you're a religious six foot tall Harvard
Law graduate and Military veteran then
your odds go up astronomically
especially if you're a Harvard alumni
because as surprising as it might sound
the odds that the president of America
has attended Harvard is one in 3.58 so
if you want to have the best chance of
becoming president you know what school
to apply for
however getting into Harvard is almost
as difficult as becoming president when
you're done with a Chance of just 4.6
percent of getting in you might want to
apply to some backup schools as well
at the end of the day we all just want
to be successful whether it's through
the Arts or going through the so-called
traditional route of finishing college
and getting a good job we all just want
to have enough money to live comfortably
while we're still young but sadly the
odds are stacked against us
there's a slim chance of just between
6.4 percent and 22.3 percent that you'll
become a millionaire with different
factors like race education wealth
status and age helping to place you
somewhere in that range
while the chance of becoming a billionaire
billionaire
well there's 8 billion humans in the
world and only around 2 000 billionaires
so basically non-existent
getting old has a Bittersweet taste to
it on the one hand you're getting wiser
more mature and you have a much better
understanding of the world than you did
when you were younger but on the other
hand you're also getting weaker you're
forgetting things more
and sadly your body just keeps breaking
down one after the other and the stats
don't really help at all
if you're under 20 right now there's a
one in four chance that you'll be
disabled before you retire
and it gets worse
there's a one in two chance that at the
age of 75 you'll have disabling hearing loss
loss
this is why whenever people say they
want to work hard now so they can enjoy
their retirement I kind of feel bad for
them because most times at that age you
don't really get to enjoy anything
all you can really do is sit around and
reminisce on a life that once was and
when the Grim Reaper comes you say
goodbye to your loved ones and move on
and that's why you should do everything
you want to do right now
for some reason there's a seven percent
higher chance that you'll die on your
birthday than on any other day going out
together with the candles
but for a few of us living to 100 is
possible with the odds of that happening
being approximately one in five thousand
seven hundred and eighty with those odds
increasing significantly if you're
biologically a woman
on the other hand of the spectrum one of
the most incredible human achievements
is being born
if you're here watching this video right
now you deserve a round of applause you
ran you fought you survived
and Against All Odds you made it
thoughts of you existing were 1 in 5.5 trillion
trillion
but here you are
you might have been the one in 20 chance
of being born on your mom's exact due
date or you're like most of us who are
born around two weeks before or after
you might be the one in 250 who are
geniuses burdened with the weight of
advancing our civilization or like the
rest of us who are cheering them on
whoever you are whatever it took you to
get here
that was an incredible feat one that is unrepeatable
unrepeatable
as light travels through space it
behaves like a wave but light is also
made of tiny particles called photons
this is the Paradox of wave particles
and it has completely revolutionized
modern physics
the universe is filled with intriguing
paradoxes like this statements that
challenge our understanding of reality
and force us to question our deepest assumptions
assumptions
these paradoxes have the power to change
our lives in profound ways opening us up
to new possibilities and reshaping the
very fabric of our existence
here are paradoxes that will change your life
well the lotto jackpot has grown to over
64 million dollars it all started with a
lottery ticket [Music]
[Music]
if you go out and buy a lottery ticket
knowing fully well that your chances of
winning are 10 million to one it'd be
logical to assume you didn't win
you'd also be justified in thinking that
your friend your uncle his sister their
cousin and their dog all have losing tickets
tickets
you're justified in believing that
everyone who bought a ticket will lose
even when you know the lottery was fair
and there has to be a winner
you're justified in believing something
you know to be false
this demonstrates that truth is relative
it depends on context Prejudice and your
perspective about the world
because the truth is the only thing you
can prove with certainty is that nothing
is certain
this is why people don't consider
Pinocchio saying my nose will grow now
to be a paradox his nose will not grow
because he didn't lie he simply made a
false prediction
if we have a set of all sets that do not
contain themselves does that set contain itself
itself
imagine there's a barber who shaves all
men who don't shave themselves and only
men who don't shave themselves
does the barber shave himself
this is an example of Russell's Paradox
a paradox That Shook the mathematical world
world
these paradoxes playfully notice into
realizing that self-reference can often
lead to unexpected contradictions
contradictions aside though we all want
to be happy but those who seek out
happiness directly often don't find it
this is the Paradox of Hedonism if we
truly want to be happy we need to stop
searching for happiness and pursue other
meaningful activities like nurturing our
relationships or serving others and only
then can we be truly happy
the pursuit of pleasure in its raw form
often leads to disappointment while a
life lived in service can lead to
unexpected happiness
deep down we all know this endless
partying decadent eating habits and
shopping sprees we know these activities
are never as fulfilling as we think they
are and more often than not we're left
with a sense of emptiness after the dust settles
settles
it's called post-indulgence clarity
we see this Paradox Even in our
relationships expecting your partner to
completely control your happiness often
makes them unable to make you happy at
least not in the way you want it the
reality is that to have good
relationships we need to be somewhat
independent of them
people think that to find the right
partner they need all the options in the
world to pick the perfect person but in
truth having more options isn't always better
better
just look at the fact that we have all
these dating apps at our fingertips and
many of us still can't find a healthy relationship
relationship
this is the Paradox of choice and
contrary to what we think many options
often leave us less satisfied with our
final decision
I once watched a tick tock where this
guy said men today see more beautiful
women while scrolling through Tick Tock
for five minutes then Kings from the
past did in their entire lives and
although it was a joke he was entirely correct
correct
but it's not a good thing
according to biological Anthropologist
Helen Fisher the human brain isn't built
to deal with more than five to nine
options for a partner after that the
brain goes into decision paralysis where
it almost refuses to pick
so the next time you feel inundated by
options remember that less is sometimes
better and more data may not always be
more informative
learning is great asking questions and
figuring out how things work is how our
species has gotten to where it is today
but learning is also a paradox because
the more you know the more you realize
you don't know
it's an amazing Paradox one that
encourages you to never stop learning
paradoxes are everywhere in mathematics
and statistics like Simpsons paradox
here trends that appear in a different
group will disappear or even reverse
when the groups are combined to form a
larger group
in the 1970s UC Berkeley was accused of
gender bias against women in its
admissions process
at first glance the admissions data made
it seem like men were more likely to be
admitted than women but when the data
was broken down into individual
departments most departments had
admission percentages that were
significantly in favor of women the
problem was that a higher proportion of
women were applying to more competitive
departments with lower admission rates
so when compared to all the men in the
school it seemed like women had lower
rates of admission but when compared to
the men in each department it was clear
that the women actually had a higher rate
rate
this is unfortunately how misinformation
spreads it's usually not with wrong data
but with the correct data expressed
without proper context because the
reality is that often as paradoxical as
it may seem the whole is different from
the sum of its parts
changes ever present in our lives the
human body replaces billions of cells
daily and every seven years or so you
are an entirely different cellular
collection so if we're constantly
changing how do we know the person we
are today is the same person we were
seven years ago
one might say the essence of who we are
remains but that Essence is really just
the result of our thoughts beliefs and
experiences which are also changing
so who really are you
maybe you like defining yourself based
on your struggles how hard you pursue
something do you want to achieve but
have you ever thought that sometimes
trying too hard to get something almost
makes it impossible to get
it's the backwards law and it's an
interesting concept with lots of layers
to uncover if you're interested in a
dedicated video about the subject just
let me know in the comments below
in 2016 after his Infamous penalty Miss
against Chile Lionel Messi hung up his
boots with his beloved Argentina in what
seemed like the last nail in the coffin
Messi simply had enough on the club
stage success seemed to come to him so
easily but where he really wanted it
where he desperately tried to do it all
by himself Victory seemed elusive
consider the Paradox of Achilles and the
Tortoise coin by Zeno the father of stoicism
stoicism
in this Paradox Achilles gave a tortoise
a head start and races it to Infinity
Xeno argued that Achilles will never
truly overtake the tortoise because when
he reaches where the tortoise started
the tortoise will have moved a little
further and this pattern will continue
till Infinity
the Paradox is silly but it challenges
our perception of movement space and infinity
infinity
and the realization it leaves with us
especially with Messi's story is that
sometimes no matter how much you try
some things seem just that little bit
Out Of Reach
Messi had to accept that part of his
legacy was beyond his control the
Argentine Football Federation was under
financed and poorly managed and there
was no one around him when he needed
support with criticism pouring down from
all sides and embarrassing defeats won
after another the dream would remain
just that
a dream
yet as soon as he let go the tide began
turning Messi took almost a metaphorical
back seat dropping deeper than his
traditional role playing farther from
the goal that he had ever played
his job now wasn't to shine himself but
cast lights on the others many of whom
were young kids who were fans of him
when he hung up his boots in 2016.
but there he was on December 18 2022
nearly six years after that missed
penalty lifting the World Cup
very few stories are as remarkable as
Messi's most of us live and die without
doing or being anything special
or is that so
if there's nothing oddly special about
us the earth and the life it holds then
the universe should be teeming with life
and yet it isn't
you might say maybe that it is and we
just aren't Advanced enough to search
the Galaxy to find it and you'll be
right but considering how young our
galaxy is compared to others out there
and that if given enough time any
advanced species should be able to
figure out Interstellar travel if there
are any aliens we should have seen them
by now
this is fermi's paradox and put simply
by a New York Times article it exclaims
if life is so easy someone from
somewhere must have come calling by now
maybe equally paradoxical is the
insignificance of the question are we
special when you boil it down to the individual
individual
there's around 20 quintillion animals on
Earth that's 20 billion billion
yet the value of a single life isn't questioned
questioned
so why do we think that the Universe
teaming with life will make us any less unique
there's something innately valuable
about life what exactly it is they
remain forever elusive
and speaking of elusive things in life
the coastline Paradox is a geographical
conundrum that originated in the mind of
British scientist Louis fry Richardson
it's a concept that challenges our
understanding of measurement and
infinity revealing a surprising
contradiction that's not only
mathematical but also physical
essentially this Paradox states that the
length of a coastline depends on the
length of the tool used to measure it
the shorter the ruler the longer the
measured length of the coastline this is
because a smaller ruler can capture more
of the intricate twists and turns of the coastline
coastline
but here the Paradox arises
theoretically as the ruler gets
infinitely small the length of the
coastline becomes infinitely large
consider the coastline of Britain as an
example if we were to measure it with a
hundred kilometer ruler we would get a
significantly shorter length than with a
one kilometer ruler which would capture
more details of the coastline
and if we used a one centimeter ruler
the coastline would appear even longer
following this logic to its extreme the
coastline seems to stretch to Infinity
as the ruler shrinks to zero
but how can this be after all Britain is
an island of finite size
the Paradox stems from the fractal
nature of coastlines they have a high
degree of complexity and self-similarity
at all scales
this is a real world example of a
mathematical concept known as fractal geometry
geometry
the coastline Paradox is not only
mind-bending but it also has practical
implications for cartography geology and
various other disciplines
it teaches us a humbling lesson about
the limitations of our measurements and
how they can be influenced by the skill
at which we look at things
it's a testament to the unexpected
complexities that can emerge from
something as simple as measuring a
length the coastline Paradox is a
stunning illustration of how reality can
defy our intuitive assumptions revealing
an infinitely intricate endlessly
fascinating world of surprises
it's a poetic Ode to the idea of
paradoxes themselves from being
incorporated into movies to
revolutionizing reality and the Sciences
paradoxes have captured our imagination
intellectual enigmas that's what they are
are
beautiful puzzles that tease our
intellect to challenge our perceptions
and invite us to look beyond the
apparent they hold up a mirror to the
complexities of life in the universe
reflecting an intriguing and Elusive existence
existence
paradoxes gracefully illustrate that our
universe isn't a mere collection of absolutes
absolutes
but a symphony of mysteries wonders
for the past month or so I've been
thinking a lot about life and when
people say that they usually mean what
they want to do in life whether that be
their career or relationships or
entertainment or leisure
but I've been thinking differently of
course I've been thinking about those
things but I've also been thinking about
how much of your life is really yours
how much of your life is really being
lived to its full potential
are you living or are you just existing
on average you're gonna get about 79
years on this big rock called Earth if
you live in Monaco it's closer to 90. if
you live in Chad you'll be lucky to get 50.
50.
regardless we don't get 79 years of
Freedom we have responsibilities and
things that we can't ignore
most importantly our bodies
assuming you sleep eight hours a night
on average about a third of your life or
26 years is going to be spent sleeping
so right away we're down from 79 to 53.
but it doesn't stop there
chances are if you're watching this
video you're going to or have gone to
school in the United States you'll go
for at least 12 Beers 8 hours a day 5
days a week for 36 weeks a year this
amounts to 17 280 hours spent just
inside the school building but wait we
also have to factor in homework and
out-of-school activities among other
things so this is more like twenty two
thousand to twenty five thousand hours
or about three years of your life
if you go to college or university
afterwards make it five years instead
we're down to 48 years
well all this schooling and money you
spent getting a degree has to be put to
some use right
chances are you'll try and get a job in
the field of whatever it is your degree
is in it'll probably be a full-time job
so you'll be working 40 hour weeks
pretty regularly if not more than that
let's say you get two weeks of vacation
per year
the average person works for about 40 to
50 years of their life so we'll just go
with the average and say 45. over your
entire life you'll work on average about
90 000 hours or about 10 years of your
life we have 38 years left
wait depending on where you live your
commute to work will vary you might
drive yourself you might walk you might
use an Uber or a taxi regardless your
commute to and from work on average
takes about one and a half hours a day
adding this up over your entire working
career it amounts to 17 520 hours or
about two years of your life
36 years left
all of this work and studying really
builds up an appetite so you should
probably spend some time eating on an
average day we spend about 70 minutes
just eating food to survive
in your 79 years of life you'll spend
about 32 000 hours just eating or about
four years of your life
down to 32 well after you're done eating
you have to clean up and maybe do some
chores around the house on average you
spend about one hour a day doing tasks
just around your house cleaning up after
you eat washing dishes doing laundry
showering and plenty of other stuff
this amounts to nearly 29 000 hours over
the course of your life or about three years
years
29 years left
eventually all of that food and water
has to leave your body somehow
you'll spend about three months of your
life just sitting on the toilet yeah
yeah
of course we also waste time and we do
it pretty well
over the course of our lifetimes we'll
spend about 115 000 hours on our phones
or about 13 years
this of course is just your phone this
doesn't include you watching TV you
playing games among other things
16 years left
assuming you can afford to retire at the
average age of 62 you'll spend the rest
of your life living the luxuries of
retirement if you can still function properly
properly
over 50 percent of retired people over
the age of 65 have some sort of
disability with 15 of those people
having three or more chances are if you
are one of these people you'll be in and
out of Medical Care pretty often
so those final 16 years of Freedom you have
have
it's a coin flip that doesn't exactly
entail freedom
so overall you have one year in your 79
year life to really and truly do what
you want to do but despite the age you
might be young or old you may be nearing
the end of your time with some of the
most important people in your life
for example while you're young and in
school from the ages of 1 to 18 you'll
most likely be spending nearly every day
in the presence of your parents after
you finish your schooling assuming your
parents are in their mid-40s we'll say
they have about 30 years left in their
life the real world starts to set in
your job your possible relationships
your important things to do in life take priority
priority
eventually if you leave your hometown
you'll only be seeing your parents
around holidays and special occasions
maybe 10 days a year
so 300 days left with the people who
brought you into the world whereas
before you would see them almost every
single day
you have already spent 95 of the time
that you will ever spend with your
parents in the first 18 years of your life
life
and now
you only have the remaining five percent
for the rest of your life
at the end of the day there's only one
thing that matters and that's your own happiness
happiness
well many people don't realize is that
they do so many things in life just to
try and succeed as opposed to fulfilling
a purpose they work a job they hate for
40 years just to make that extra thirty
thousand dollars a year so they can
afford a car that they only drive to work
work
it's temporary happiness not genuine happiness
happiness
people go to school to become a doctor
because their mom or their dad or
somebody else told them to not because
they actually want to
I really hope that every single person
watching this video gets insanely rich
and famous so that they can finally
realize that this isn't the point of life
life
the point is to be happy with what
you're doing while you're doing it
alright sure the 45 working years or
however long you're working is gonna be
hard to get past
but what if you don't hate waking up
every day to go to work what if your
work is your happiness
you see life isn't a straight path you
can't map it out perfectly one to one it
just doesn't work like that we spend
every day planning on what we're going
to do the next instead of just taking in
the day for what it actually is
sure we have to eat duh but what if we
spend that time eating with friends or
family or just people who make your life better
better
your commute to work might be long and
tedious sometimes but what if you spend
that time listening to podcasts or
carpooling with co-workers and Friends
the 13 years we waste on our phones
might seem useless but what if we use
that time to build the business you've
always wanted to or build the brand
you've always wanted or make a YouTube
channel to talk to people about the
random ideas you get you'll bring so
much value to people that you never even
thought was possible
let's say you take care of yourself and
regularly work out decently well your
chances of being healthy later in life
is much more likely and you'll have much
more free time to master the things that
you really want whether that be a skill
or just relationships with others
no matter what you or I or any person on
this planet does time doesn't stop for
anyone time is the one thing you cannot
get back if you lose a lot of money it's
fine you can get more
if your friend decides to turn their
back on you it's fine there's millions
of people out there in the same situation
situation
but time you can't get it back
once it's gone it's gone
how many days have you spent doing the
same mundane tasks that you hate and
more importantly when is it going to end
life is about choices every choice
you've ever made has led you to this
exact moment watching this video
and given that you only have one life at
least in this universe why not make your
own decisions
so many people live life predicated on
somebody else's opinion which is dumb
people have so many barriers in life but
they aren't really about money they
aren't about time they aren't about how
you look it's about opinions
other people's opinions
probably about 90 percent of people are
unhappy because they value someone
else's opinion more than their own when
you're old and unable to do the things
that you could have when you're younger
you'll regret and regret hurts more than
any breakup failure or anything else
ever could
life doesn't have to suck you don't have
to regret everything
that fomo or fear of missing out is a
poison instead of living trying to mimic
people you see on Instagram or YouTube
or social media just live based on your
own terms instead of just observing and
living passively really start to think
about what you do with your time
does that mean call your boss and tell
him you quit no does that mean drop out
of school tomorrow no
all it means is to truly decide what you
want in life and put yourself in the
right direction it's not gonna happen
overnight that's not the point there
would be no Journey then
cliche as it sounds your 79-year journey
here is very short
sure it's technically the longest thing
you'll ever do
but the universe is 13.8 billion years old
old
if the universe's history was condensed
down into 24 hours the World As We Know
It with cars and airplanes and
civilization as we know it would only
come into existence in the very last second
second
block out any and all negativity in your life
life
and once you can truly realize that the
only opinion that matters is your own
life can get pretty clear
and the noises inside your head
as kids we believed a lot of different
things from thinking that the gifts
under the Christmas tree were kept there
by Santa to imagining a tiny fairy that
came in at the dead of night to steal
the loose tooth from underneath our pillows
pillows [Music]
[Music]
most of the things we believed in as
kids are magical information pieced
together by stories that we've been told
by adults or things that we watched on
TV one of those things that some of us
watched on TV and actually believed in
was Barney
that's right the purple dinosaur
Barney's theme song while nonsensical
offers us a rather interesting Paradox
the song goes Barney is a dinosaur from
our imagination
Barney shows us lots of things like how
to play pretend which begs the question
if Barney was the one who taught us how
to play pretend then how did we imagine
him to be in the first place
it's the classic causal Loop where an
event in the future creates an event in
the past which creates the event in the
future and so you're left without a
point of origin
paradoxes are all around us from the
shows we grew up watching as kids to the
songs that were stuck in our heads
throughout Middle School
you know that one song by One Direction
that goes you don't know that you're
beautiful that's what makes you beautiful
beautiful
just think about it for a moment for her
to not know that she was beautiful she
had to have been beautiful in the first
place which means that she couldn't have
known what made her beautiful
as if that wasn't enough the song is all
about telling the girl that she is
beautiful so does that mean then that
when the song is over the girl stops
being beautiful
because now that she knows that she is
beautiful shouldn't that make her no
longer beautiful
what if she stops believing she's
beautiful doesn't that then make her
beautiful again
it's a weird thing in that the more you
think about it the less sense it makes
relationships are also weird two random
people meet each other and decide that
they want to spend all or at least most
of their time together
you're asking each other silly
paradoxical questions like if a person
who can read minds and a person who can
predict the future fight each other
who would win
soon after you're both in bed on a cold
windy night sharing secrets you said
you'd never tell anyone
you're lying down there with your
partner in a windowless room and then it
begins to rain
you don't have any idea of what the
weather outside is like you have no
weather app or anything like that and so
when your friend walks in and tells you
it's raining outside you don't believe them
them
in that scenario your friend can say
about you it's raining but John doesn't
believe it and it would be perfectly acceptable
acceptable
so why is it that if you say the same
thing it's raining but I don't believe
it is everyone in the room might think
you've just lost your mind
why is the second question absurd and
not the first
why is it absurd for us to say something
that is true about ourselves
speaking of Truth what do you think
would happen to Pinocchio if he said the
words my nose will grow now
if Pinocchio's nose grows then that
means he was telling the truth so his
nose shouldn't have grown
what if his nose doesn't grow then he
just told a lie and so his nose should grow
grow
some people don't consider this to be a paradox
paradox
the argument is that Pinocchio's nose
would not grow because he didn't lie he
simply made a false prediction
where's the fun in that
a lot of the times we say things that
make sense to us on the surface
however on closer inspection you quickly
realize things are not as they seem
let's say you go out and buy a lottery
ticket knowing fully well that your
chances of winning are 10 million to one
it would be perfectly normal for you to
conclude that you did not get the
winning ticket in fact it would be
considered a bit crazy for you to think
that your ticket won
you'll also be justified in thinking
that your friend your uncle your sister
his sister their cousin and their dog
all have losing tickets
you look around you in the store you're
justified in believing that everyone you
encounter will probably lose and in turn
that no ticket will win
however knowing fully well that the
lottery was fair and there must be one
winner you are justified in believing
something you know to be false just how
this only goes to show that truth is
relative it depends on context on
knowledge and perspective about the world
world
because the truth is the only thing that
you can prove is certainty is that
nothing is certain
I watched a couple fighting outside
Starbucks the other day the woman turned
to the man who was with her and in a
slightly raised voice she said deep down
you're really shallow and while the rest
of the coffee shop pretended that they
didn't just hear that
I had to pause and think about it for a moment
moment
if he had a deep down then how can he be shallow
shallow
but I bet that's not what was in his mind
mind
or was it
for all we know he was probably thinking
of shallower thoughts deep down in his heart
heart
for a relationship to succeed everyone
in the relationship needs to trust one
another but this is real life and
sometimes people are insecure and
sometimes it's not their fault
everything from anxiety to past
traumatic experiences the reality of the
world forces us sometimes to be insecure
this is why people often find it easier
to talk to strangers about their deepest
darkest Secrets than the ones they claim
to trust
it's the Paradox of trust we claim to
trust this person yet we fear they would
judge us for our secrets and on the flip
side we feel most comfortable telling
people who we do not trust the secrets
that could damn us
not long before the couple finished
their argument the Baristas and the
coffee shop walked out to the little
girl and her mom in the chair adjacent
to me they handed the little girl tiny
birthday cupcake and sang the Happy
Birthday song to her
as she closed her eyes to make a wish
before blowing out the candles I quickly
glanced around the room and I thought to myself
myself
huh what are the chances that someone
else in here right now also has their
birthday today
unlike most rational people I concluded
that it was far too unlikely
there were less than 30 people in the
coffee shop that day and there are 365
days in a year so of course the chances
that two random people would have the
same birthday would be slim right
well most people would say yes but
according to the birthday Paradox most
people would be wrong
because if there are 23 people in a room
there's a 50 chance that two of them
share a birthday
now to fully understand this one we're
going to need some math so permit me to
do a little bit of probability analysis here
here
let's start small with just two people
Let's ignore leap years or Twins or any
patterns that suggest babies are born
more times at certain periods of the
year than others because those are just
too confusing
okay say you and I are in a room
together there's a 365 out of 365 or 100
chance that I have a birthday
I do and a 365 out of 365 times 364 out
of 365 chance that we both do not share
the same birthday
now let's say one other person in the
room joins us
the probability that this new person
does not have the same birthday as
either of us becomes 365 over 365 times
364 over 365 times 363 over 365 and that
multiplication just goes on and on and
on for however many babies you want
when you get to the 23rd baby this
incredibly long series of multiplication
gives you the number 0.492 which is
basically 49.2 percent now this is the
probability that we do not share a
birthday to find out the probability
that two random people in this coffee
shop do share a birthday we have to
subtract that number from 100 which
gives us 50.7 percent
if you don't fully understand the math
honestly I barely did too but it checks
out trust me
while we're on the subject of math a
teacher once walked into her class on
Friday and announced that there would be
a surprise test sometime next week
as she left the class the students began
to murmur to each other about when they
thought the test would happen
one clever student stood up and told his
mates that the test couldn't be given on
a Friday because when Thursday comes
around and they don't have the test then
they know that the test is on Friday
but it has to be a surprise test so it
can't be Friday
because they already know it can't be
Friday if it's by the end of Wednesday
and it doesn't happen then they'll know
it's Thursday so it can't be Thursday either
either
the student continues his analysis for
the rest of the week until Monday and
finally he comes to the conclusion that
the test cannot be given at all since
they would know but the teacher said it
would be a surprise
so when the teacher walks in on
Wednesday and hands them their test
sheets the students are all surprised
how could this have happened they all
we're living in unprecedented times with
Russia's attack on Ukraine the whole
world is currently sitting on basically
a live grenade one wrong move from any
of the world powers and we could very
well find ourselves in the middle of
Another World War
it's in times like these when you just
paused and think about paradoxes in the
way that our society operates we claim
to be free but there is no freedom
without Law and Order and as the Latin
saying goes CVS pakum Parabellum which
despite my poor pronunciation translates
to if you want peace prepare for war
it's a strange thing to think about and
an even stranger thing to be living through
through
in World War II Pilots could only get
out of combat duty if they were
psychologically unfit to fly however
anyone who tried to get out of combat
Duty proves he is sane
today we call this a catch-22 after the
satirical World War II novel written by
Joseph Heller
we see catch-22s everywhere in our world
today to get a job you need work
experience but to get that work
experience you need to have had a job
we've all seen it companies asking for
five years of experience for entry-level jobs
jobs
or coal miners who only have two options
to quit working in die of starvation or
to keep working and die of pollution
most people pick the latter because then
they can say at least they tried their best
best
the world is unfair some people are born
into wealth power and privilege and
never have to work a day in their lives
the rest are forced to struggle and
slave away just to make ends meet
truly all animals are equal
but some are more equal than others
on the surface this statement might not
seem logical
however on close inspection it may prove
to be well founded
if I told you right now that humans are
perfect organisms and that in our
mother's wombs we first are fishes who
then develop into amphibians and then
reptiles birds primates before finally
becoming what we know as human
I'm sure you'd look at me like I've gone insane
insane
and I have but that's besides the point
just as recently as 1811 because of the
works of scientist Johann Friedrich
meckel everybody thought that was true
and this is because science is transient
what we once told is truth quickly Fades
away upon closer inspection and looking
back we can only laugh at ourselves for
the scientific facts we once held dear
to our hearts some other times these
aren't even actual scientific facts
they're just very popular opinions that
all of us have collectively agreed to be
true even though they are in fact not
these are all the times we were wrong
not everything Michael said was wrong
though in fact he was the first
scientist to correctly predict that
embryos have gills well slits on their
neck that closely resemble gills at least
least
however unlike what he suggested we
don't pass through a fish phase in our
mother's wombs these slits are most
likely due to the fact that both humans
and fish share common ancestor and some
DNA and not because we're trying to
attain some kind of biological
Perfection I mean who are we kidding
we're far from perfect
for a long time scientists believe this
to be true
well until the late 19th century when
Charles Darwin's theory of evolution
started to gain traction we realized
that a linear series of evolution in our
mother's womb was completely illogical
the theory of evolution is one that has
been completely riddled with lots of
false claims and ideas that are simply
not true
in reality evolution is a very difficult
subject to research because of the
limited amount of fossil information available
available
as a result a lot of times all we're
left with are hypotheses
some of which are brilliant and others
not so much
for a long time scientists believe that
all of life was aquatic until one day
many millions of years ago A Brave fish
dared to walk on land starting with very
short periods on dry ground the fish
started spending more and more time on
land and gradually its gills got
replaced with lungs and it became
amphibian then the amphibians became
reptiles who became Birds who became
mammals and while these scientists got
the process of evolution right that one
Brave fish was not the first animal to
step on land
the Earth was rich with insects and
funguses and was bubbling with life
before that fish ever came into the picture
picture
another hypothesis that we all seem to
collectively get wrong is where humans
come from
if I asked you right now you'd most
likely tell me that we evolved from
chimpanzees our closest living relatives
but while the second half of that
statement is true the first half is
completely false we didn't evolve from
chimpanzees yes we evolved from apes
however we did not evolve from any Apes
living today [Music]
[Music]
we monkeys chimps and gorillas all
evolved from a common ancestor the
so-called great apes that lived in
Africa around 7 million years ago it was
around that time in the evolution chain
that we split so although chimpanzees
are our closest living relatives we're
further apart on the family tree than a
lot of us think
are much closer relative although now
extinct of the Neanderthals
modern humans split from neanderthals
just around 500 000 years ago but even
these guys certainly came with their own controversy
controversy
for a long time scientists believe that
neanderthals and humans never lived
together with some believing that
neanderthals evolved into humans
but again that's not true archaeologists
have since found ancient human skeletons
that proved that modern humans and
Neanderthals coexisted for thousands of
years in fact they didn't just co-exist
they actually made it which is why most
humans living outside of Africa have
anywhere between one to four percent of
Neanderthal DNA is still in them today
when we start talking about the theory
of evolution in ancient humans we can't
help but talk about dinosaurs you know
those giant scary lizard looking things
from Jurassic Park the ones that have
Earth-like tones lizard-like scales and
Roars more earth-shattering than that of
a lion
well in reality the dinosaur was none of
those things I just mentioned first
dinosaurs are more closely related to
birds than lizards in fact every single
living bird today is a modern day
dinosaur a descendant of theropods a
species of ancient dinosaurs and because
they're Birds they mostly had feathers
covering their scaly skin fossil
evidence has shown that a lot of
tyrannosaurus had feathers which means
that even the great T-Rex probably had a
few as well mostly on its head and tail
dinosaurs also never ran fast because
they always had to have one leg on the
ground they could only get to around 25
miles per hour which is still pretty
scary because
well one they're massive and two the
average speed of a human is 15 miles per
hour what if you're Usain Bolt you've
got nothing to worry about you can
outrun these guys any day
and let's be honest have you ever heard
any bird Roar
yeah me neither which is why a recent
scientific study has shown that the two
wrecks most likely hooted cooed or made
deep-throated booming sounds like the
Emu not a trembling roar like a giant
lion it's funny when you think about it
now we can forgive ourselves for getting
after all all of these things happen
tens of millions of years ago before any
of this ever existed but if you look
much closer in time you'll see a lot of
things we get wrong every day even
things that are as simple as George
Washington's teeth
in 1789 when George Washington was
inaugurated as president he only had one
natural tooth left but because the
president needed an amazing smile he
wore Dentures now in reality these
Dentures were made from hippopotamus
Ivory brass and gold but for some reason
we like to believe they were made from wood
wood
why we believe that I have idea but it's
not too late to change your mind
according to the Merriam-Webster
Dictionary a person who often changes
their beliefs or behaviors in order to
please others or to succeed is called a chameleon
chameleon
but our chameleons really chameleons
this definition is derived from the
assumption that chameleons change the
color of their skin to match their
surroundings most likely to camouflage
and while there are animals that excel
at using this tactic like the octopus
the chameleon is not one of those animals
animals
in reality most chameleon species can
only change from green to Brown and back
to green and they don't change color to
blend into their surroundings they do it
to regulate their body temperature
when the chameleon is cold it becomes
darker to absorb more heat and when it's
hot it turns pale to reflect more heat
so it can cool down
there is one species of chameleon that
can change into any color though and
that's the panther chameleon but even
those guys don't do it to match their
surroundings their flamboyant display of
colors helps them fend off against males
competing for territory
and also to attract females I mean isn't
that why we all buy designer in the
first place to impress each other
speaking of fancy who else was taught
the diamonds are made from coal
sorry but that's not true at all it's a
terribly common misconception in fact
most of the diamonds that have been
dated were found to be older than even
the very first plants that appeared on
Earth and because you need trees to make
coal it's impossible for a coal to
produce diamonds when diamonds existed
long before the material that makes coal
even existed
anyway NASA researchers have even found
a number of Nano diamonds and meteorites
Nano diamonds are diamonds that are just
a few nanometers in diameter simple
enough they're too tiny to be considered
gems but it's still pretty cool that you
can have these precious objects just
floating around in space
still it makes you question why we deem
them as so precious when in reality
they're extremely abundant in our
universe there are planets in space
where it literally Reigns diamonds
anyway of course these asteroids are
floating because there's no gravity in
space right
well unfortunately wrong
there is gravity in space it's what
holds the moon in orbit around the Earth
and the Earth close together around the
sun with all the other planets it's just
that as you get further away from the
earth the Earth's gravitational pull on
you weakens and other gravitational
forces begin to take priority
but in reality everything in space is falling
falling
in every direction imaginable all the time
time
the only reason it seems as if you're
floating and not falling is because
space is very large and most importantly
very empty at least compared to Earth
for instance on Earth if you were to and
I really really don't recommend it
jump off a building you could feel the
strong winds on your face you would see
the ground appearing closer and closer
you can tell that you're falling quite
easily and in just a few seconds impact
impact
you're on the ground because the
distance between the height you felt
from and where you landed isn't that much
much
in space there is no air so no whooshing
sound to accompany your fall and because
it's so large it takes you anywhere from
a few hours to many years to land on one
surface when you fall from another
so it feels like you're floating
but you're not you're falling really
really slowly and that's because of
gravity one of man's most important discoveries
when you think about the fact that it is
one of man's most important discoveries
you would imagine that the story behind
it would have been preserved carefully
but the version almost all of us have
heard has not been preserved at all
the old tale goes that Newton was tired
from all the many failed experiments he
had in his career tired and frustrated
he sat under a tree to rest his head as
he sat a ripe Apple fell down from the
tree and hit him on the head and in a
Eureka moment he discovered one of the
most important forces in physics gravity
but the truth is much less dramatic than
that in reality Isaac Newton was
observing the apples falling from the
tree of their own accord when he
discovered that there must be a force
behind it he wasn't sitting under the
tree and apple certainly didn't fall on
his head
see sometimes I understand why we make
up some of these stories they help make
us feel better about ourselves when we
believe that some of Humanity's greatest
achievements couldn't have happened
without a huge slice of luck we can keep
hope alive for our own share of luck our
own piece of the apple pie
it's the same with the story of Albert
Einstein we all heard growing up about
how he failed in class but still went on
to become one of the greatest physicists
the world has ever seen but that's just
not true at all Einstein always excelled
in school he didn't learn to read late
in life and he most likely didn't have a
learning disability our teachers must
have told us these stories to make us
feel good about ourselves give us hope
that even if we have rough starts in
school we can still become Geniuses
later in life if we worked hard
and while there are a thousand examples
of this exact Theory Einstein simply
wasn't one of them
Aristotle was one of the greatest
philosophers to have ever lived and was
the first true scientist
he practically invented formal logic and
he described and explored the different
scientific disciplines and their
relations to one another
but for all the good he did
there was one thing he got terribly
terribly wrong
he claimed that the Earth was at the
center of the universe
I mean why wouldn't he most things You
observe point to this exact conclusion
now while Aristotle wasn't the first to
say this he championed the fight he
claimed that using logic he had found
this to be a hundred percent true and
wouldn't back down from his argument it
took the work of Galileo almost two
Millennia later to discover that the sun
was at the center of the solar system
and not our Earth and still people
didn't believe him in fact they
ostracized him and this is just one of
the many times that we as humans have
over emphasized our importance
in the movie Lucy Morgan Freeman says
this in a room full of students
it is estimated most human beings only
use 10 of their brain's capacity imagine
if we could access a hundred percent
interesting things begin to happen
while it's fun to think that humans are
capable of a whole lot more if we could
just find a way to tap into that
remaining 90 resource reality is far
less exciting
most of the brain is active almost all
the time
while they might not be actively used
for thinking they're working busy doing
other things
like keeping you alive kind of important
think about it the brain is just three
percent of the body's weight but it uses
twenty percent of the body's energy
to burn through that much energy you
would have to be doing something right
even though we get it wrong most of the
time it's fun to explore the world
around us we will continue to make
assumptions about everything we see
and chances are most of it'll be wrong
but that's a good thing
because if we never know what's wrong
money
Our Lives revolve around it we all want
it we know we all want it most of it
doesn't even exist Beyond The Heavy Duty
servers of some bank and yet the pursuit
continues for this elusive thing
despite its presence in everyday life
despite the fact that we spend most of
our waking hours working towards money
it still somehow taboo to talk about
we like to pretend that money is not
important to us and sure money is not
the end goal in fact one of the most
common regrets of people on their
deathbeds tends to be that they worked
too hard she chasing after money of course
course
for all its value however money still
can't buy you a meaningful relationship
or an experience
but while money can't buy any of those
things it can make them more accessible
is happiness not easier to achieve once
you know the bills are all taken care of
is happiness not easier to achieve when
you are able to give a loved one
something you know they deserve
at the very least more money often
equates to more choices in terms of how
you want to spend your time whether that
is with your loved ones or in chasing a
passion you had as a kid and even if you
disagree with everything I just said
in order to change the world you will
still need the backing of financial capital
capital
now with that said and hopefully having
navigated through the awkwardness of
introducing such a topic
let's cut right to the chase
how much money should you be making
how much is enough and mind you there is
a very good reason to ask such a question
question
this is not just for curiosity's sake
studies show that when you have actually
put a metric to a goal and maybe even
written it down you are more likely to
achieve it
people who vividly picture a goal are 40
more likely to successfully achieve it
so how much what does the literature say well the relationship of money and
well the relationship of money and happiness is a complicated one
happiness is a complicated one first of all emotions are generally hard
first of all emotions are generally hard to track and second of all this question
to track and second of all this question has not been researched all that much
has not been researched all that much however anyone talking about this topic
however anyone talking about this topic has to bring up a piece of literature
has to bring up a piece of literature from 2010 authored by Daniel Kahneman
from 2010 authored by Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton their paper looks into
and Angus Deaton their paper looks into the relationship between income and
the relationship between income and happiness but it goes a bit beyond that
happiness but it goes a bit beyond that the authors decided that simply looking
the authors decided that simply looking into one metric as a measure of
into one metric as a measure of subjective well-being would fail to
subjective well-being would fail to capture the complete picture and
capture the complete picture and confound the findings
confound the findings so they looked at two things emotional
so they looked at two things emotional well-being which is defined as the
well-being which is defined as the day-to-day satisfaction and life
day-to-day satisfaction and life evaluation defined as the thoughts that
evaluation defined as the thoughts that come to mind when one thinks of Life as
come to mind when one thinks of Life as a whole
a whole you could also think of emotional
you could also think of emotional well-being as the sort of short-term
well-being as the sort of short-term happiness and life evaluation as the
happiness and life evaluation as the long-term happiness
long-term happiness now what did the research find
now what did the research find it turns out life evaluation Rises
it turns out life evaluation Rises steadily with income
steadily with income the more people earn the more positively
the more people earn the more positively they tend to think of life in general
they tend to think of life in general emotional well-being on the other hand
emotional well-being on the other hand seems to Plateau after an annual income
seems to Plateau after an annual income of around 75 000. meaning till that
of around 75 000. meaning till that figure for the majority of people each
figure for the majority of people each bit of raise and income will feel great
bit of raise and income will feel great but after it your day-to-day happiness
but after it your day-to-day happiness won't go up by that much
won't go up by that much so there it is right that's the magical
so there it is right that's the magical number
number well not quite
well not quite for one this is a study from 2010
for one this is a study from 2010 because of inflation today that amount
because of inflation today that amount is closer to around 93 000. and I should
is closer to around 93 000. and I should also mention that this study was
also mention that this study was conducted with U.S residents as
conducted with U.S residents as participants what is considered a good
participants what is considered a good life will definitely vary drastically in
life will definitely vary drastically in other parts of the world let's get that
other parts of the world let's get that right
right just recently in the first few weeks of
just recently in the first few weeks of 2021 researcher Matt Killingsworth
2021 researcher Matt Killingsworth published the latest findings on the
published the latest findings on the very same question
very same question how much money should you be making to
how much money should you be making to be happy
be happy his findings
his findings experienced well-being continues to rise
experienced well-being continues to rise even Beyond The Covenant 75 000 Mark and
even Beyond The Covenant 75 000 Mark and not just that it continues to rise just
not just that it continues to rise just as deeply as before meaning the return
as deeply as before meaning the return on investment isn't any worse off the
on investment isn't any worse off the more money you make
why does this research disagree with the previous findings
previous findings well for a paper by Kahneman and Deaton
well for a paper by Kahneman and Deaton the data that was collected for
the data that was collected for emotional well-being were answers to
emotional well-being were answers to questions about the previous day
questions about the previous day that has the potential to fail to
that has the potential to fail to capture what a person was actually
capture what a person was actually feeling in that moment of happiness or
feeling in that moment of happiness or sadness because our minds tend to play
sadness because our minds tend to play tricks with us
tricks with us Killingsworth research meanwhile is
Killingsworth research meanwhile is collected via an app which pings users
collected via an app which pings users at various times of the day
at various times of the day it is more convenient than the
it is more convenient than the traditional forms of surveying and as
traditional forms of surveying and as such he had a significantly larger pool
such he had a significantly larger pool of responses to base his findings on
of responses to base his findings on this also allowed him to more truly
this also allowed him to more truly capture what participants were feeling
capture what participants were feeling so if we are to accept killing's worst
so if we are to accept killing's worst findings then most people's day-to-day
findings then most people's day-to-day happiness as well as their General
happiness as well as their General outlook on life tend to improve with
outlook on life tend to improve with higher income
higher income so does that mean we should all just aim
so does that mean we should all just aim for an astronomically High salary in
for an astronomically High salary in search of happiness and hope that we get
search of happiness and hope that we get there someday is that a realistic Target
there someday is that a realistic Target there's a thought experiment to try and
there's a thought experiment to try and answer that question for us as
answer that question for us as individuals
individuals author Brad stallery came up with the
author Brad stallery came up with the idea for the experiment
idea for the experiment it goes like this
it goes like this how much money would you have to be paid
how much money would you have to be paid right here right now to never received
right here right now to never received another dollar of income from anyone
another dollar of income from anyone else
else now you might think that's a
now you might think that's a straightforward experiment you just aim
straightforward experiment you just aim for a really really high number
for a really really high number somewhere in the hundreds of millions or
somewhere in the hundreds of millions or billions from most people
billions from most people I guess
I guess the catch is that this experiment will
the catch is that this experiment will be run in groups of five people and
be run in groups of five people and whoever has the lowest figure in mind
whoever has the lowest figure in mind will actually walk away with the money
will actually walk away with the money the rest of the players get nothing
the rest of the players get nothing the game theory at play here is actually
the game theory at play here is actually quite cool
quite cool the interesting thing about this
the interesting thing about this experiment is that it pits two of your
experiment is that it pits two of your impulses against each other and in doing
impulses against each other and in doing so forces you to be reasonable
so forces you to be reasonable because of course you want to aim for a
because of course you want to aim for a high number
high number but you also want to win and have the
but you also want to win and have the money so you can't just aim for a
money so you can't just aim for a stupidly large number
stupidly large number of course this experiment is talking
of course this experiment is talking about money paid as a lump sum While
about money paid as a lump sum While most of the research looks at salaries
most of the research looks at salaries the perceptions of well-being might as
the perceptions of well-being might as well be different for the two of them
well be different for the two of them but it's hard to see what the thought
but it's hard to see what the thought experiment won't work with salaries too
experiment won't work with salaries too go ahead and ask yourself that question
go ahead and ask yourself that question and see what you come up with
and see what you come up with the answer might help you more vividly
the answer might help you more vividly visualize a Target that you can actually
visualize a Target that you can actually work towards
work towards of course we all want to achieve
of course we all want to achieve happiness but more income is easier said
happiness but more income is easier said than done
than done When shall we really stop trying and
When shall we really stop trying and what if the circumstances are simply not
what if the circumstances are simply not there for a raise or a commotion
there for a raise or a commotion well that's where the other part of the
well that's where the other part of the puzzle comes in our adaptation
puzzle comes in our adaptation don't get me wrong it's a wonderful
don't get me wrong it's a wonderful thing
thing being able to adapt is what allowed our
being able to adapt is what allowed our species to come so far
species to come so far but at the same time it also means that
but at the same time it also means that whenever presented with an improved
whenever presented with an improved quality of life we rapidly adapt to it
quality of life we rapidly adapt to it and begin taking it for granted
and begin taking it for granted it would explain why most people live
it would explain why most people live their lives from nine to five chasing
their lives from nine to five chasing after that next raise because staying
after that next raise because staying where you are regardless if you make
where you are regardless if you make five figures a year or seven brings with
five figures a year or seven brings with it a heavy feeling of obsolescence
it a heavy feeling of obsolescence then there's obviously an element of
then there's obviously an element of comparison we've known this for a while
comparison we've known this for a while that comparison is the thief of joy
that comparison is the thief of joy you might have a seven figure salary but
you might have a seven figure salary but you won't be anything close to happy if
you won't be anything close to happy if you compare yourself with Jeff Bezos who
you compare yourself with Jeff Bezos who has more money than brain cells
has more money than brain cells literally
literally studies also show that for the same
studies also show that for the same salary people living in a rich
salary people living in a rich neighborhood feel worse than people in a
neighborhood feel worse than people in a poor neighborhood
poor neighborhood while both participants likely take joy
while both participants likely take joy from their salaries they also compare
from their salaries they also compare them with that of the Joneses
them with that of the Joneses if the Joneses make less than you you're
if the Joneses make less than you you're happy if they make more you're not
happy if they make more you're not research also says easily accessible
research also says easily accessible money improves well-being more than
money improves well-being more than money that is stowed deep inside
money that is stowed deep inside someone's pension
someone's pension the closeness of a number that you can
the closeness of a number that you can glance out of your pocket can be a
glance out of your pocket can be a reassuring breath of air
reassuring breath of air having only 500 worth of disposable
having only 500 worth of disposable money in a bank account can improve life
money in a bank account can improve life Satisfaction by up to 15 percent
Satisfaction by up to 15 percent then of course there's a question of
then of course there's a question of what you do with the money that
what you do with the money that eventually leads to happiness if you
eventually leads to happiness if you simply make more money for making
simply make more money for making money's sake you might still get some
money's sake you might still get some joy out of it assuming you're successful
joy out of it assuming you're successful it's much like a game but the Elation
it's much like a game but the Elation will pair in comparison to that of a
will pair in comparison to that of a person who spends his hard-earned Cash
person who spends his hard-earned Cash In A Better Way buying time is often
In A Better Way buying time is often seen as one of the best ways to spend
seen as one of the best ways to spend your money and that it allows you to
your money and that it allows you to focus on the most joyous aspects while
focus on the most joyous aspects while offloading the more laborious aspects to
offloading the more laborious aspects to someone who will happily do them
someone who will happily do them the gig economy has made this more
the gig economy has made this more accessible than ever before allowing
accessible than ever before allowing people to spend more of their time for
people to spend more of their time for the things that truly matter even if it
the things that truly matter even if it means having a little less in the bank
means having a little less in the bank account
account this might mean paying someone to do the
this might mean paying someone to do the dishes so you can read a book to your
dishes so you can read a book to your child in bed or it could mean purchasing
child in bed or it could mean purchasing a more expensive ticket to be able to
a more expensive ticket to be able to spend some time with family
spend some time with family material possessions also draw a lot of
material possessions also draw a lot of attention when it comes to the relation
attention when it comes to the relation between wealth and happiness
between wealth and happiness the research is clear on this too
the research is clear on this too spend on experiences not things
spend on experiences not things the reason is that experiences are
the reason is that experiences are exclusive nobody can feel what you felt
exclusive nobody can feel what you felt on that trip with your best friend
on that trip with your best friend nobody can buy that exclusivity
nobody can buy that exclusivity despite the fleeting nature of an
despite the fleeting nature of an experience it can last a lifetime
experience it can last a lifetime and unlike the value of objects which
and unlike the value of objects which tend to depreciate over time experiences
tend to depreciate over time experiences only seem more enjoyable in hindsight
only seem more enjoyable in hindsight our minds tend to overlook the small
our minds tend to overlook the small bumps in an experience the delayed
bumps in an experience the delayed flight or the poor Wi-Fi and remember
flight or the poor Wi-Fi and remember Only the Good parts
Only the Good parts so instead of aiming for a certain
so instead of aiming for a certain salary figure it might make more sense
salary figure it might make more sense to aim for experiences and pursue the
to aim for experiences and pursue the ability to afford those experiences
ability to afford those experiences of course this is not to say that
of course this is not to say that material possessions cannot be an
material possessions cannot be an experience
experience song might be an experience a cup of
song might be an experience a cup of coffee might be an experience an
coffee might be an experience an expensive car might be an experience
expensive car might be an experience that's really up to the individual to
that's really up to the individual to decide
decide but people generally overestimate how
but people generally overestimate how happy they'll be once they have that one
happy they'll be once they have that one new thing
new thing however once we have it feeling of
however once we have it feeling of satisfaction slowly erodes and we were
satisfaction slowly erodes and we were back where we started
back where we started on some level it might be a bit
on some level it might be a bit troubling to accept that money does
troubling to accept that money does indeed buy happiness or at the very
indeed buy happiness or at the very least by his ways towards happiness
least by his ways towards happiness but really
but really haven't we known this all along
haven't we known this all along more importantly though this realization
more importantly though this realization has to be qualified with the ideas of
has to be qualified with the ideas of what's really important
what's really important people experiences and time
people experiences and time not only can It inform our career
not only can It inform our career choices and how much we want to invest
choices and how much we want to invest chasing after this thing
chasing after this thing but it also tells us why generosity is
but it also tells us why generosity is important why a more Equitable future is
important why a more Equitable future is one to strive for
one to strive for because remember
because remember the only reason any of us want money
the only reason any of us want money is to inevitably get rid of it in the
is to inevitably get rid of it in the end
end [Music]
[Music] if you're watching this right now you've
if you're watching this right now you've won
won you've won the game of life you just
you've won the game of life you just don't know it yet
don't know it yet as of May 2019 there are approximately
as of May 2019 there are approximately 7.7 billion humans on our planet
7.7 billion humans on our planet 7.7 billion people just like you and me
7.7 billion people just like you and me living their own lives with their own
living their own lives with their own jobs relationships hobbies and not one
jobs relationships hobbies and not one is the same as any other
is the same as any other the number of events of situations of
the number of events of situations of interactions that happen on a daily
interactions that happen on a daily basis across everyone on Earth is the
basis across everyone on Earth is the number so high that it's hard to fathom
number so high that it's hard to fathom but something that is even harder to
but something that is even harder to understand is how you're even here in
understand is how you're even here in the first place
the first place a lot has happened over the course of
a lot has happened over the course of history like a lot of things there was
history like a lot of things there was nothing and then there was something
nothing and then there was something there were a lot of things
there were a lot of things and all of this the entire history of
and all of this the entire history of the universe has led you to this very
the universe has led you to this very second
second the timeline we live in the one where
the timeline we live in the one where you're breathing and using your senses
you're breathing and using your senses to get all the information from this
to get all the information from this video
video what are the odds of that happening
what are the odds of that happening everything has led to this moment but by
everything has led to this moment but by the numbers you shouldn't even be here
the numbers you shouldn't even be here in the first place
in the first place [Music]
[Music] living a life like you do today you had
living a life like you do today you had to be put here
to be put here but even at one time the Earth wasn't
but even at one time the Earth wasn't here
here the universe had to form in the exact
the universe had to form in the exact way it did for life to form on Earth the
way it did for life to form on Earth the fundamental forces of nature just so
fundamental forces of nature just so happen to come together in the way that
happen to come together in the way that they did luckily gravity is a thing and
they did luckily gravity is a thing and it's proved to be useful so useful that
it's proved to be useful so useful that it's pretty much the glue that holds
it's pretty much the glue that holds together any Star Planet Galaxy
together any Star Planet Galaxy pretty much anything
pretty much anything the strong and weak nuclear forces are
the strong and weak nuclear forces are able to keep us as humans held together
able to keep us as humans held together at the lowest levels imaginable
at the lowest levels imaginable luckily one Lost Planet roaming the
luckily one Lost Planet roaming the solar system collided with Earth over 4
solar system collided with Earth over 4 billion years ago and that is why we
billion years ago and that is why we have the Moon that is why we have
have the Moon that is why we have seasons it's why the climate is just
seasons it's why the climate is just perfect it's why we have liquid water on
perfect it's why we have liquid water on Earth
Earth currently remains as the only place in
currently remains as the only place in the entire universe known to Harbor life
the entire universe known to Harbor life forms of any kind out of millions
forms of any kind out of millions billions whatever the number is out of
billions whatever the number is out of all of those planets only one has life
all of those planets only one has life for certain
for certain but even one out of a billion are better
but even one out of a billion are better odds than you being alive
odds than you being alive for some reason that I wish I could tell
for some reason that I wish I could tell you one day a microorganism one that
you one day a microorganism one that couldn't be seen to our naked eye begin
couldn't be seen to our naked eye begin feeding on the thermal vents at the
feeding on the thermal vents at the bottom of the ocean
bottom of the ocean this little almost insignificant
this little almost insignificant organism played the most important role
organism played the most important role of them all
of them all for all they knew a world above them
for all they knew a world above them didn't exist but one day it would
didn't exist but one day it would over millions of years Evolution took
over millions of years Evolution took place these microbes began to be able to
place these microbes began to be able to replicate themselves and each and every
replicate themselves and each and every single step of evolution began
single step of evolution began the pure numbers of the situation
the pure numbers of the situation doesn't do it justice the odds of
doesn't do it justice the odds of everything being so perfect that each
everything being so perfect that each step brought us progressively closer to
step brought us progressively closer to becoming modern humans humans that could
becoming modern humans humans that could realize they're human that from one
realize they're human that from one microbe spawned an entire species that
microbe spawned an entire species that took over the entire planet over a few
took over the entire planet over a few thousand years
thousand years on a universal time scale that's quite
on a universal time scale that's quite literally nothing
literally nothing but now let's think about humans what
but now let's think about humans what separates us from everyone else the
separates us from everyone else the minds of animals have continuously
minds of animals have continuously gotten more advanced over time
gotten more advanced over time but a human mind is something completely
but a human mind is something completely different
different sentience Consciousness we are aware of
sentience Consciousness we are aware of some internal state of being we don't
some internal state of being we don't wake up in the morning because you've
wake up in the morning because you've thought about it your brain just did it
thought about it your brain just did it we don't think about breathing we don't
we don't think about breathing we don't think about blinking your brain
think about blinking your brain automatically takes in all of your
automatically takes in all of your senses and creates a picture a view of
senses and creates a picture a view of the world
the world in your head
in your head for all we know the Earth could be
for all we know the Earth could be something completely different from what
something completely different from what we see day to day
we see day to day but the way we perceive it all comes
but the way we perceive it all comes down to how a three pound organ in your
down to how a three pound organ in your head can put together a puzzle with the
head can put together a puzzle with the pieces being all of your senses
pieces being all of your senses but it isn't perfect it's easy to trick
but it isn't perfect it's easy to trick for example listen to this
for example listen to this and try to imagine it
right now you're probably thinking of a restaurant it has multiple tables all
restaurant it has multiple tables all having a little world of their own you
having a little world of their own you might be imagining waiters moving food
might be imagining waiters moving food around
around this little Universe of its own was
this little Universe of its own was created in your head
created in your head all from just your sense of hearing
all from just your sense of hearing humans have the ability to picture
humans have the ability to picture things to see them from a different
things to see them from a different perspective to take our imaginations and
perspective to take our imaginations and make them a reality
make them a reality this works great actually every
this works great actually every invention ever made was due to that
invention ever made was due to that spark that initial burst of creativity
spark that initial burst of creativity the brain built us as individuals and we
the brain built us as individuals and we built the world
built the world luckily we're on a planet with hundreds
luckily we're on a planet with hundreds of different elements some of which work
of different elements some of which work great for shelter or technology some
great for shelter or technology some work greatest food sources to Keep Us
work greatest food sources to Keep Us Alive some release certain chemicals in
Alive some release certain chemicals in your brain that make you feel a certain
your brain that make you feel a certain way and these chemicals released form
way and these chemicals released form you as a person
you as a person for example the fight or flight response
for example the fight or flight response that we get when we're in danger is the
that we get when we're in danger is the result of adrenaline a hormone in your
result of adrenaline a hormone in your body
body happiness is the result of having large
happiness is the result of having large amounts of Serotonin and the most
amounts of Serotonin and the most important one involving Your Existence
important one involving Your Existence today
today the love formula
the love formula sorry to break it to you but you see you
sorry to break it to you but you see you couldn't have gotten here by yourself
couldn't have gotten here by yourself even if you wanted to you may think
even if you wanted to you may think you're the result of Randomness but
you're the result of Randomness but actually everything happened the way it
actually everything happened the way it was supposed to
was supposed to your parents met which by itself is an
your parents met which by itself is an extremely low probability event
extremely low probability event depending on your age out of millions or
depending on your age out of millions or possibly billions of people
possibly billions of people these two met at the perfect timing
these two met at the perfect timing for example you watching this video
for example you watching this video offsets your daily activities by about
offsets your daily activities by about 10 to 15 minutes everything you do after
10 to 15 minutes everything you do after you finish watching this video will
you finish watching this video will alter your life in some way as weird as
alter your life in some way as weird as it sounds you're actually changing the
it sounds you're actually changing the course of your life right now
course of your life right now some events that should have happened
some events that should have happened won't and others that shouldn't have
won't and others that shouldn't have happened will
happened will every day you stray further down your
every day you stray further down your own personal timeline one that not any
own personal timeline one that not any other single person on the planet has
other single person on the planet has lived
lived except you
except you your parents are no exception to this
your parents are no exception to this they both live their own lives were
they both live their own lives were raised by different parents hopefully
raised by different parents hopefully worked different jobs had different
worked different jobs had different friends
friends but somehow ended up meeting and not
but somehow ended up meeting and not only did they meet but they liked each
only did they meet but they liked each other enough to stay together to come
other enough to stay together to come into the decision to have a child you
into the decision to have a child you unless you are a mistake like me
unless you are a mistake like me not even kidding it keeps going a woman
not even kidding it keeps going a woman has about 300 000 eggs inside her body a
has about 300 000 eggs inside her body a male can have billions or trillions of
male can have billions or trillions of different sperms throughout his life but
different sperms throughout his life but only specifically one of each could make
only specifically one of each could make you and it did
you and it did the odds of that are one
the odds of that are one in 400 quadrillion
in 400 quadrillion if the situation hadn't been perfect if
if the situation hadn't been perfect if that one stoplight hadn't been green if
that one stoplight hadn't been green if that line at the grocery store wasn't so
that line at the grocery store wasn't so long there's a pretty high chance that
long there's a pretty high chance that your parents would have never met these
your parents would have never met these lucky situations don't stop at your
lucky situations don't stop at your parents they keep going it extends to
parents they keep going it extends to their parents and to their parents
their parents and to their parents all of which somehow ended up living
all of which somehow ended up living long enough to have kids this goes back
long enough to have kids this goes back tens of thousands of years
tens of thousands of years even your ancestors thousands of years
even your ancestors thousands of years ago when the life expectancy was
ago when the life expectancy was literally 30 years
literally 30 years this continues all the way back to that
this continues all the way back to that very first little microbe at the bottom
very first little microbe at the bottom of the ocean floor over 4 billion years
of the ocean floor over 4 billion years ago your life is the result of a family
ago your life is the result of a family tree that hasn't been broken for
tree that hasn't been broken for billions of years
billions of years what are the odds that all of that
what are the odds that all of that happened perfectly
happened perfectly you're more likely to be struck by
you're more likely to be struck by lightning a thousand times in a single
lightning a thousand times in a single day than you are to be alive
day than you are to be alive you're more likely to be a victim of an
you're more likely to be a victim of an airplane crash every single day of the
airplane crash every single day of the year back to back to back
year back to back to back then you are to be alive
then you are to be alive you're more likely to win the lottery
you're more likely to win the lottery nine times in a row than you are to be
nine times in a row than you are to be alive
alive some may say you were put here for a
some may say you were put here for a purpose Others May say you just got
purpose Others May say you just got lucky
lucky the universe has 10 to the 80 atoms
the universe has 10 to the 80 atoms the odds of you being born are much
the odds of you being born are much lower than that
lower than that the number of 50 50 coin flips your
the number of 50 50 coin flips your family has went through when it comes to
family has went through when it comes to living long enough to have children
living long enough to have children or dying before carrying on the family
or dying before carrying on the family line it goes back tens of thousands of
line it goes back tens of thousands of millions of years
millions of years this gets more interesting when you
this gets more interesting when you consider alien civilizations
consider alien civilizations the odds of us meeting are already low
the odds of us meeting are already low but when you think about everything that
but when you think about everything that had to happen for two different
had to happen for two different civilizations coming into existence
civilizations coming into existence close enough to each other to actually
close enough to each other to actually contact each other
contact each other it's just crazy to think about
it's just crazy to think about no matter what age you are no matter
no matter what age you are no matter where you live no matter your gender
where you live no matter your gender you are alive this is a luxury that by
you are alive this is a luxury that by the numbers you shouldn't have even been
the numbers you shouldn't have even been given
given what's the point in living a life that
what's the point in living a life that you aren't trying to squeeze everything
you aren't trying to squeeze everything out of
out of looking at the regret in the faces of
looking at the regret in the faces of people who are too old to do the things
people who are too old to do the things that they really wanted to do in life
that they really wanted to do in life is perhaps one of the scariest things in
is perhaps one of the scariest things in the world
the world waking up in the morning and realizing
waking up in the morning and realizing that your existence is actually a
that your existence is actually a miracle
miracle something that seems so perfect so
something that seems so perfect so orderly came from an infinite set of
orderly came from an infinite set of possibilities
possibilities the amount of thoughts you have in a day
the amount of thoughts you have in a day the number of neurons that are fired and
the number of neurons that are fired and exist in your brain are inconceivable in
exist in your brain are inconceivable in magnitude
magnitude this doesn't happen by accident
this doesn't happen by accident everything that could have happened
everything that could have happened didn't it only happened in the way that
didn't it only happened in the way that set the universe into its current state
set the universe into its current state the smallest of things the tiniest of
the smallest of things the tiniest of decisions makes the biggest differences
decisions makes the biggest differences the biggest impacts
the biggest impacts understanding how little of a chance
understanding how little of a chance there is that you're here today is
there is that you're here today is terrifying but yet I find that more than
terrifying but yet I find that more than anything else
anything else it gives me purpose
it gives me purpose it gives me a reason to say that I and
it gives me a reason to say that I and everyone else have a reason to exist
everyone else have a reason to exist I believe you exist for a purpose but
I believe you exist for a purpose but that's for you to figure out
that's for you to figure out I Can't Tell You Why We Exist but I can
I Can't Tell You Why We Exist but I can tell you one thing that's for certain
tell you one thing that's for certain we shouldn't have even been here in the
we shouldn't have even been here in the first place I recently came across a
first place I recently came across a magazine cover from 1962.
magazine cover from 1962. created by Italian artist Walter Molino
created by Italian artist Walter Molino it depicts a busy road in the 21st
it depicts a busy road in the 21st century with what looks like a
century with what looks like a four-wheeled scooter Walter called it
four-wheeled scooter Walter called it the singaletta
the singaletta while our roads today don't exactly look
while our roads today don't exactly look like this the imagination wasn't all
like this the imagination wasn't all that far off
that far off we certainly have booster boards and
we certainly have booster boards and scooters that somewhat resemble the
scooters that somewhat resemble the single letter
single letter in fact if anything today's writers
in fact if anything today's writers would probably be quite open to the
would probably be quite open to the possibility of having this glass
possibility of having this glass enclosure that protects them from the
enclosure that protects them from the elements but of course despite his
elements but of course despite his futuristic appeal in reasonable accuracy
futuristic appeal in reasonable accuracy you can still see that part of the
you can still see that part of the artist's imagination is still stuck in
artist's imagination is still stuck in the time in which it was drawn
the time in which it was drawn for example why would the artist imagine
for example why would the artist imagine the transportation is so radically
the transportation is so radically changed and yet leave the fashion
changed and yet leave the fashion stagnant in their time
stagnant in their time it made me think about how people in the
it made me think about how people in the past might have imagined their future
past might have imagined their future which just so happens to be our present
which just so happens to be our present of course the fascination with the
of course the fascination with the future is as old as time itself to be
future is as old as time itself to be able to predict things with any level of
able to predict things with any level of accuracy was historically quite
accuracy was historically quite profitable
profitable what was at one time the sole expertise
what was at one time the sole expertise of the oracles became very much a
of the oracles became very much a concern for the entire population
concern for the entire population simply being able to predict when it
simply being able to predict when it might rain and when the weather would be
might rain and when the weather would be right for crops was immensely useful to
right for crops was immensely useful to the people of the past how accurate they
the people of the past how accurate they were in those predictions is a different
were in those predictions is a different question altogether
question altogether but after all despite all the
but after all despite all the technological advances weather apps
technological advances weather apps reliably started working only relatively
reliably started working only relatively recently
recently but beyond the monetary incentives we've
but beyond the monetary incentives we've always been Wanderers of possibility
always been Wanderers of possibility magazine covers movies books you name it
magazine covers movies books you name it from Marty McFly's self-lacing shoes and
from Marty McFly's self-lacing shoes and Back to the Future to the voice
Back to the Future to the voice activated home security in Blade Runner
activated home security in Blade Runner these predictions are captivating bold
these predictions are captivating bold and by definition ahead of their time
and by definition ahead of their time some of them are even remarkably
some of them are even remarkably accurate
accurate [Music]
this is a page from the 1928 edition of the popular mechanic trying to imagine a
the popular mechanic trying to imagine a city of the future
city of the future in what seems to be a very omniscient
in what seems to be a very omniscient and realistic take on cities of the
and realistic take on cities of the president and even the future you could
president and even the future you could argue that the authors of this magazine
argue that the authors of this magazine have not only predicted just underground
have not only predicted just underground traffic but also some level of larger
traffic but also some level of larger underground infrastructure we now know
underground infrastructure we now know that this is going to be somewhat of a
that this is going to be somewhat of a reality due to the initiatives of the
reality due to the initiatives of the boring company we can also see that it's
boring company we can also see that it's all separated by vehicle types which is
all separated by vehicle types which is a concept we already tried to do today
a concept we already tried to do today with Lancer different speeds and vehicle
with Lancer different speeds and vehicle types like carpooling Lanes bus lanes
types like carpooling Lanes bus lanes bike lanes and so on
bike lanes and so on the picture also shows spiral escalators
the picture also shows spiral escalators it needs to be said that both the
it needs to be said that both the elevators and the escalators had been
elevators and the escalators had been invented by then but you would imagine
invented by then but you would imagine the people from back then might be
the people from back then might be surprised that these things have largely
surprised that these things have largely remained unchanged both in Form and
remained unchanged both in Form and Function
the move towards personalized technology was also one of the themes of prediction
was also one of the themes of prediction back then transitioned from the horse
back then transitioned from the horse carriage to personal vehicles was simply
carriage to personal vehicles was simply the start of that
the start of that however some even predicted things like
however some even predicted things like video calling and Smart Homes
video calling and Smart Homes this European postcard from the
this European postcard from the Victorian era said to depict the year
Victorian era said to depict the year 2012 seems to have predicted video
2012 seems to have predicted video calling and while the device to get it
calling and while the device to get it done looks in no way like the
done looks in no way like the pocket-sized devices of today it is
pocket-sized devices of today it is remarkable that they were able to even
remarkable that they were able to even conceive of something like this so early
conceive of something like this so early it also needs mentioning that the timing
it also needs mentioning that the timing of the prediction was also eerily
of the prediction was also eerily accurate
accurate casual video calling only kicked off in
casual video calling only kicked off in the mid-2000s after Skype gained
the mid-2000s after Skype gained popularity mere years before the image
popularity mere years before the image predicted
predicted of course not everyone saw it this way
of course not everyone saw it this way in fact some of the very people in
in fact some of the very people in charge during the dawn of the
charge during the dawn of the technological era were quite skeptical
technological era were quite skeptical of its personal promise
of its personal promise in what may now seem as laughably
in what may now seem as laughably inaccurate Thomas Watson the president
inaccurate Thomas Watson the president of IBM said in 1943 that I think there
of IBM said in 1943 that I think there is a World Market for maybe
is a World Market for maybe five computers
five computers of course Thomas's prediction was
of course Thomas's prediction was limited not by a lack of belief in the
limited not by a lack of belief in the technology itself but rather the sheer
technology itself but rather the sheer size of computers back then
size of computers back then he simply could not foresee a time when
he simply could not foresee a time when computers would be as portable and user
computers would be as portable and user friendly as they are today
friendly as they are today and who can blame him
and who can blame him this is not to say that everyone agreed
this is not to say that everyone agreed about a computer's promise Ken Olson was
about a computer's promise Ken Olson was the founder of digital Equipment
the founder of digital Equipment Corporation in 1977 he and his company
Corporation in 1977 he and his company were a major force in the rapidly
were a major force in the rapidly emerging world of computing and you
emerging world of computing and you would imagine that he would have
would imagine that he would have first-hand knowledge of how a personal
first-hand knowledge of how a personal computer could revolutionize the world
computer could revolutionize the world he famously said
he famously said there is no reason anyone would want a
there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home
computer in their home you could tell me how correct he was
you could tell me how correct he was there
there of course sometimes these predictions
of course sometimes these predictions are even more out there
are even more out there in the 1950s people thought that all
in the 1950s people thought that all furniture and appliances of the home
furniture and appliances of the home would be waterproof and
would be waterproof and as such we would clean everything with a
as such we would clean everything with a hose
hose in 1901 Thomas Edison also imagined a
in 1901 Thomas Edison also imagined a world where we would streamline the
world where we would streamline the construction process so much that
construction process so much that instead of building things Brick by
instead of building things Brick by Brick we would have pre-designed models
Brick we would have pre-designed models of houses and upon the customer's choice
of houses and upon the customer's choice you would simply go ahead and pour them
you would simply go ahead and pour them in place
in place it sounds like an extreme large-scale
it sounds like an extreme large-scale water-based version of 3D printing one
water-based version of 3D printing one which needless to say is a ways away if
which needless to say is a ways away if at all possible
at all possible there are also ideas about get this a
there are also ideas about get this a whale bus by the year 2000. people
whale bus by the year 2000. people thought that everyday travel would no
thought that everyday travel would no longer be limited to the roads and that
longer be limited to the roads and that we would also travel regularly through
we would also travel regularly through the Seas and oceans strapped to the back
the Seas and oceans strapped to the back of a giant whale
of a giant whale not even joking about this one
not even joking about this one but more often than not these
but more often than not these predictions tend to have some
predictions tend to have some anthropocentric residue of the time in
anthropocentric residue of the time in which they're created
which they're created for example in Blade Runner's hyper
for example in Blade Runner's hyper futuristic depiction of 2015 while the
futuristic depiction of 2015 while the flying cars and heavily lit vertical
flying cars and heavily lit vertical cities might feel at home you can notice
cities might feel at home you can notice that Deckard in pretty much all
that Deckard in pretty much all occupants of those cars aren't wearing
occupants of those cars aren't wearing seat belts
seat belts you would imagine that the speed of
you would imagine that the speed of flying cars would make seatbelts a
flying cars would make seatbelts a no-brainer but it turns out at the time
no-brainer but it turns out at the time in which the movie was made
in which the movie was made seat belt laws still hadn't even been
seat belt laws still hadn't even been passed in California
passed in California besides there are other similar
besides there are other similar Tendencies with predictions
Tendencies with predictions predictions made during fruitful periods
predictions made during fruitful periods of Life tend to be optimistic whereas
of Life tend to be optimistic whereas those made during particularly Hard
those made during particularly Hard Times such as the Great Depression tend
Times such as the Great Depression tend to be more pessimistic
to be more pessimistic they all generally fail to foresee
they all generally fail to foresee things like mobile phones and the
things like mobile phones and the internet in the sense that these
internet in the sense that these inventions were so revolutionary that it
inventions were so revolutionary that it would have been hard to think of these
would have been hard to think of these things simply by extrapolating previous
things simply by extrapolating previous technology
technology the biggest source of these predictions
the biggest source of these predictions have always been science fiction and
have always been science fiction and while it may seem that sci-fi of the
while it may seem that sci-fi of the past might have little use beyond the
past might have little use beyond the binders of some Buff's notebook science
binders of some Buff's notebook science fiction is sometimes criminally
fiction is sometimes criminally underrated in terms of its importance in
underrated in terms of its importance in society
society this is because of the latest findings
this is because of the latest findings in physics or biology don't quite
in physics or biology don't quite attract The public's attention like a
attract The public's attention like a well-made sci-fi thriller this gives
well-made sci-fi thriller this gives sci-fi almost an exclusive position of
sci-fi almost an exclusive position of authority which also happens to be a
authority which also happens to be a responsibility as sci-fi can then scope
responsibility as sci-fi can then scope The public's ideas about technology and
The public's ideas about technology and shift their focus from or towards
shift their focus from or towards certain issues
certain issues for example too often we see that the
for example too often we see that the fascination of the future revolves
fascination of the future revolves around very fast flying vehicles and not
around very fast flying vehicles and not so much about the threat of something
so much about the threat of something like artificial intelligence
like artificial intelligence even when AI does get the Limelight the
even when AI does get the Limelight the depiction is almost always of evil
depiction is almost always of evil robots destroying Humanity in one Fell
robots destroying Humanity in one Fell Swoop however this largely misconstrues
Swoop however this largely misconstrues the deceivingly subtle nature of AI
the deceivingly subtle nature of AI development
development robots such as those depicted in Blade
robots such as those depicted in Blade Runner and the Terminator series simply
Runner and the Terminator series simply haven't arrived yet they are
haven't arrived yet they are significantly smarter than the best
significantly smarter than the best robots we can create today
robots we can create today but the fact that evil robots haven't
but the fact that evil robots haven't yet come out of the Horizon guns blazing
yet come out of the Horizon guns blazing might mislead people into thinking that
might mislead people into thinking that now is not yet the time to worry
now is not yet the time to worry yet until very recently we were utterly
yet until very recently we were utterly oblivious to how social media and the
oblivious to how social media and the intelligent algorithms behind those
intelligent algorithms behind those platforms were completely overtaking Our
platforms were completely overtaking Our Lives
Lives the Black Mirror episode nosedive shines
the Black Mirror episode nosedive shines light on this very phenomenon a reading
light on this very phenomenon a reading space dystopia that doesn't seem too far
space dystopia that doesn't seem too far from the world of Facebook likes and
from the world of Facebook likes and Tick-Tock followers
Tick-Tock followers but sci-fi does offer some more
but sci-fi does offer some more inspiring cues as well
inspiring cues as well this includes the idea of reusable
this includes the idea of reusable Rockets an idea that might be the
Rockets an idea that might be the forward to Humanity's next chapter
forward to Humanity's next chapter in fact when SpaceX and blue origin were
in fact when SpaceX and blue origin were in dispute over rights to land reusable
in dispute over rights to land reusable rockets and Associated claims SpaceX
rockets and Associated claims SpaceX cited in 1959 soviet-era sci-fi film
cited in 1959 soviet-era sci-fi film with the original idea of doing so
with the original idea of doing so these predictions are essentially
these predictions are essentially wormholes into the past into the
wormholes into the past into the aspirations of the people back then how
aspirations of the people back then how they thought how they felt and what was
they thought how they felt and what was important to them
important to them on the other end of the spectrum are
on the other end of the spectrum are time capsules things that instead of
time capsules things that instead of predicting the future give us an insight
predicting the future give us an insight into the past
into the past the Crypt of civilization is one such
the Crypt of civilization is one such time capsule it's an airtight chamber
time capsule it's an airtight chamber built between 1937 and 1940 to capture
built between 1937 and 1940 to capture what life was like in those times
what life was like in those times it is not meant to be opened before the
it is not meant to be opened before the year
year 8113. authors of this Crypt tried their
8113. authors of this Crypt tried their best to store as a diverse a set of
best to store as a diverse a set of mementos as they possibly could
mementos as they possibly could but despite that they couldn't have
but despite that they couldn't have possibly stored everything
possibly stored everything the creators of these capsules store
the creators of these capsules store only what they think is important
only what they think is important it too suffers from the same
it too suffers from the same anthropocentrism that future predictions
anthropocentrism that future predictions do
do even without a predictive element these
even without a predictive element these time capsules can actually vary in their
time capsules can actually vary in their accuracy it seems
accuracy it seems this stems from the fact that there are
this stems from the fact that there are some time capsules that are manufactured
some time capsules that are manufactured for the purpose of being open later in
for the purpose of being open later in the future
the future there are other types of time capsules
there are other types of time capsules of course those of The Accidental type
of course those of The Accidental type the most iconic perhaps of these time
the most iconic perhaps of these time capsules is the sunken Titanic
capsules is the sunken Titanic what makes it special perhaps even more
what makes it special perhaps even more so than the magazine covers and movies
so than the magazine covers and movies is the authenticity with which not how
is the authenticity with which not how it was all captured but what was
it was all captured but what was captured
captured soon after the iceberg was hit people
soon after the iceberg was hit people had to choose between life and death
had to choose between life and death some didn't even get to make that choice
some didn't even get to make that choice but they certainly weren't choosing
but they certainly weren't choosing between which of the famous paintings on
between which of the famous paintings on board they were going to keep or which
board they were going to keep or which of the ornaments should go on the
of the ornaments should go on the lifeboats
lifeboats similar perhaps in tragedy is the
similar perhaps in tragedy is the Chernobyl incident of 1986.
Chernobyl incident of 1986. the failure of the nuclear power plant
the failure of the nuclear power plant resulted in an immediate evacuation that
resulted in an immediate evacuation that left people with very little Choice as
left people with very little Choice as to what to take and what to leave
to what to take and what to leave the nuclear fallout in the region had
the nuclear fallout in the region had rendered it inhabitable for some Twenty
rendered it inhabitable for some Twenty Thousand Years
Thousand Years the result is that the remnants of that
the result is that the remnants of that day May remain largely untouched
day May remain largely untouched preserving not just the items and the
preserving not just the items and the furniture but the horror of those that
furniture but the horror of those that left them there
left them there in the centuries to come
in the centuries to come who knows when we will actually be able
who knows when we will actually be able to truly revisit the place and possibly
to truly revisit the place and possibly look back on the lives people had
look back on the lives people had but both future predictions and time
but both future predictions and time capsules from the past the fascination
capsules from the past the fascination remains largely anchored around time and
remains largely anchored around time and are belonging in it
are belonging in it whether it's the Nostalgia of the past
whether it's the Nostalgia of the past or optimism of the future we have always
or optimism of the future we have always been captivated by times which are not
been captivated by times which are not our own
our own sometimes they can offer poetic insights
sometimes they can offer poetic insights into what really matters to people in
into what really matters to people in their dying moments sometimes they can
their dying moments sometimes they can reveal eerily accurate predictions about
reveal eerily accurate predictions about our present
our present and sometimes they can set the standard
and sometimes they can set the standard for an imaginary future we have yet to
for an imaginary future we have yet to achieve
in life Anything is Possible because we can never fully understand
because we can never fully understand how the world works and the laws of
how the world works and the laws of physics prevent us from being able to
physics prevent us from being able to tell the future everything we predict is
tell the future everything we predict is a probability
a probability some are a lot more probable others are
some are a lot more probable others are less probable while some have
less probable while some have astronomically low chances of ever
