In the Nough
Quick, how much does the Earth weigh? For $5,972,000,000,000,000,000,000, how many metric tons does our dear home weigh? When you put her on a scale, what will it read? Actually, the prize was a clue. The Earth weighs 5.972-sextillion metric tons. Sextillion is what comes after quintillion, quadrillion, trillion, billion...are you with me yet? And as I’m sure you already know, a metric ton is a thousand kilograms, which is the equivalent of 2,204.62 pounds, unlike our own ton which is only 2,000 pounds.
And if you really care, this is news. A group of physicists, undoubtedly bleeding some philanthropic or government grant, has announced that they have recalculated the weight of the planet based on a new calculation of the force of gravity. We, meaning the experts among us who would have thought to retain such information in their memory, used to think that the Earth was actually six quintillion metric tons heavier, but We, and it’s still capitalized, now know better.
And tell me, who cares? Only physicists and cosmologists. And what different does it make to the rest of us, in or out of The Grand Scheme of Things? Not a thing. Use either figure as far as I’m concerned.
As a journalist, I’ve enjoyed dipping into myriad ponds of information, drawing out just enough — and then a little more — to be able to report comprehensively. So I learned a little about a lot. As I used to describe it, I could speak for a minute-thirty on almost anything. It is the antithesis of the focus work of the physicists and other primarily theoreticians who immerse themselves in a single area. Like the 19th Century mathematician who spent twenty years figuring out pi to the 707th place; it was discovered after his death that he had made an error at the 527th digit. Recently a Japanese team using a computer calculated pi to 206 billion places.
It seems a remarkable waste of time to dwell on such esoterica to consume the intellectual, scientific, and financial resources. Don’t get me wrong? I’m a big fan of thinking for its own sake. I like knowing that pi is equivalent to 3.14169, but that’s as far as I need to go. I just feel that it is important we discriminate about what we study and how deeply, considering the long range value of our efforts.
We need to acquire the appropriate knowledge to follow our individual path with purpose. Consider how Dr. Watson logged the knowledge of his friend Sherlock Holmes:
Literature, Philosophy, Astronomy: Nil. Politics: Feeble. Botany: Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium, and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening. Geology: Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them. Chemistry: Profound. Anatomy: Accurate, but unsystematic. Sensational Literature: Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century. Plays the violin well. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer, and swordsman. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.
For each of us, the knowledge we require is different. But if you need direction, consider the dictum of Russian anarchist Prince Alexei Kropotkin who offered, "What kind of world do you want to live and work in? What do you need to know to build this world? Demand that your teachers teach you that."
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.