Imagine all the people who have ever lived.
Let’s say they all fit in some gigantic football stadium. Truly Dubai-esque, dream-like proportions. Where the nosebleed section really gives you a nosebleed as commercial airliners whiz a few feet above your head, and the playing field is but a speck off in the distance, past miles of mottled heads and different hats.
Such an overwhelming sight! You step out to the breezeway under the bleachers and a cool wind smacks you in the face.
You shake it off and look up just as a hot dog vendor brushes a few bits of cloud clear of his condiments, picking up the mustard and squirting it through the mist onto the dog. You came out here to take a bathroom break, but when you step out to the railing and see the roofs of skyscrapers far below…well, let’s just say it’s easy to lose track.
The view is breathtaking – you’d swear you’re still asleep. But a dream or not, you’re certain that this is quite possibly the silliest thing you’ve ever experienced.
Everyone that’s ever lived? Why would they all be watching a football game together? Surely they couldn’t all enjoy football.
But as you toy with that thought in your head, the clouds part in the distance and you see something infinitely more stupefying than what you’ve experienced so far…
You see a dozen more of these impossibly huge stadiums dotting the skyline. Each packed to the brim, not an empty seat amongst them.
Stop this right now, you say to me. This has gone from damn silly to just plain impossible. Really? A baker’s dozen of these impossible stadiums…why, why that must be—
1.4 trillion people I respond.
Fair enough. It’s just that when we hear these big numbers in the news, they roll off of us like water off a duck’s back. A trillion here, a trillion there…and then you’re talking real money.
But when I heard that the 2009 deficit for the U.S. federal government was going to be 1.4 trillion dollars – more than triple last year’s record and the greatest deficit since World War II – well, I thought we should pause. To appreciate the gravity of that number.
After all, if it seems so silly – so impossible – just to visualize the impact of such a gigantic number. Well, you can imagine how it’s going to play out in real life…
Let’s say they all fit in some gigantic football stadium. Truly Dubai-esque, dream-like proportions. Where the nosebleed section really gives you a nosebleed as commercial airliners whiz a few feet above your head, and the playing field is but a speck off in the distance, past miles of mottled heads and different hats.
Such an overwhelming sight! You step out to the breezeway under the bleachers and a cool wind smacks you in the face.
You shake it off and look up just as a hot dog vendor brushes a few bits of cloud clear of his condiments, picking up the mustard and squirting it through the mist onto the dog. You came out here to take a bathroom break, but when you step out to the railing and see the roofs of skyscrapers far below…well, let’s just say it’s easy to lose track.
The view is breathtaking – you’d swear you’re still asleep. But a dream or not, you’re certain that this is quite possibly the silliest thing you’ve ever experienced.
Everyone that’s ever lived? Why would they all be watching a football game together? Surely they couldn’t all enjoy football.
But as you toy with that thought in your head, the clouds part in the distance and you see something infinitely more stupefying than what you’ve experienced so far…
You see a dozen more of these impossibly huge stadiums dotting the skyline. Each packed to the brim, not an empty seat amongst them.
Stop this right now, you say to me. This has gone from damn silly to just plain impossible. Really? A baker’s dozen of these impossible stadiums…why, why that must be—
1.4 trillion people I respond.
Fair enough. It’s just that when we hear these big numbers in the news, they roll off of us like water off a duck’s back. A trillion here, a trillion there…and then you’re talking real money.
But when I heard that the 2009 deficit for the U.S. federal government was going to be 1.4 trillion dollars – more than triple last year’s record and the greatest deficit since World War II – well, I thought we should pause. To appreciate the gravity of that number.
After all, if it seems so silly – so impossible – just to visualize the impact of such a gigantic number. Well, you can imagine how it’s going to play out in real life…
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