There have never been as many people alive as there are now. But have you ever wondered how many humans have lived on this planet, in total, over the long arc of history?
The number takes a lot of estimation, but you end up with approximately 109 billion people over the course of human existence.
That means almost 7% of all humans who have ever existed are alive today. It also means that for every person alive, nearly 14 people are dead. That number seems small to me as I think about how many generations came before us.
While this might be somewhat interesting, the more important question is what you will do with the time left in your hourglass? To learn more about what I think about that, here's an article I wrote on the time value of time and here's an article I wrote on the power of purpose and how healthy mindsets extend your life.
My wife is currently in Indonesia – and inflation is rising. What a perfect time to revisit the world’s most expensive coffee.
Indonesia is famous for coffee. For example, “Sumatra” is their biggest island – with “Java” coming in close behind (and both are synonymous with coffee).
They also make one of the most expensive coffees in the world … Luwak Coffee.
It is a very particular coffee, created using a very peculiar process.
In traditional coffee production, the cherries are harvested, and the beans are extracted, before being shipped to a roaster, ground into a pulp, and brewed by a barista at your local Starbucks.
In contrast, with Luwak coffee, something different happens.
The coffee cherries are harvested by wild animals.
Specifically, they’re harvested by the Asian Palm Civet, a small, cat-like animal that absolutely loves the taste of coffee cherries.
But,if the civets eat the cherries, how can they still be used to make coffee?
Here comes the gross part—the civets eat the coffee cherries, but their digestive tract can’t effectively process the beans, only the flesh surrounding them.
When the partially digested, partially fermented beans are eventually excreted, coffee producers harvest them. The beans are then cleaned, roasted, and used to make astonishingly expensive (“with retail prices reaching up to $1300 per kilogram”) coffee.
Now, is the coffee that mind-blowing?
No, not really. In fact, many critics will openly call it bad coffee, or as Tim Carman, food writer for the Washington Post put it, “It tasted just like…Folgers. Stale. Lifeless. Petrified dinosaur droppings steeped in bathtub water. I couldn’t finish it.”
To be fair, the Luwak coffee industry is not really about coffee ... it is about an experience. When I toured a plantation near Ubud, Bali, a smiling tour guide greeted and led me on an in-depth exploration of the forested property, where I was allowed to immerse myself in the various spices, roots, beans, and civets used to produce this one-of-a-kind coffee.
Here is a video I shot of the process.
If you think about it, I paid a premium to drink exotic cat poop coffee. Kind of strange!
I wouldn’t drink coffee made from people’s poop (or even domestic cat poop).
It’sthe story that allows this not-so-awesome coffee to fetch awesome prices. People are paying for the experience, not the commodity itself.
The same is true when you buy Starbucks. The coffee at 7-Eleven is cheaper – and Consumer Reports tell us that McDonald’s coffee is better.
When I talk about exponential technologies, I almost always end up discussing Tesla and SpaceX.
Elon Musk is an interesting guy.
Whether they end up doing everything they say they're going to, his companies massively accelerate the rate at which capabilities turn into products and platforms for future growth.
I recently shared the Elon quote: "Stop being patient and start asking yourself, how do I accomplish my 10-year plan in 6 months? You'll probably fail, but you'll be a lot further along than the person who simply accepted it was going to take 10 years!"
I don't know if he really said it. Nonetheless, it sounds like him ... and I agree with the sentiment.
The New Space Race.
When I was young, the Space Race captured the heart and souls of Americans. But, for the past few decades, it was in the background. Recently, that has changed. The space race is getting hot again. Resources are pouring into this area, and SpaceX is leading the pack.
While there's always room for competition, I can see many programs falling far behind if they haven't been focusing on reusability. Assuming Starship delivers on its promises (keeping in mind that Elon is often over-confident about his timeline), it will be cheaper and more versatile than anything out there.
I think it's naive to assume that other companies aren't doing interesting things ... but by the time they release anything comparable, it's possible that SpaceX will already dominate the market.
The economics of reusable rocketry isn't yet cost-effective for most potential customers, but Musk is undoubtedly moving the needle in the right direction.
Hopefully, he can continue to raise the expectations of both consumers and producers. The results could be out-of-the-world.
Right now, suborbital trips from Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin cost between 250K to 500K per trip - and trips to actual orbit cost over $50 million.
However, I believe the cost of space travel - and space tourism - will drop radically within my lifetime.
It's hard to comprehend the scale of the universe and the scale of our potential ... but that's what makes it worth exploring!
Even though we've only been talking about space travel, there are so many other exponential technologies that this applies to just as well.
As we enter the new year, it feels appropriate to focus a little on our mortality. What better time for an existential crisis?
Below is an infographic that shows events in the life of a typical American. However, you can personalize it to display how long you likely have to live by filling in your education level, sex, country of birth, and when you were born. Seeing where you are ... versus how many dots are left can be jarring.
The average life expectancy for men in the U.S. is 76.
How many amazing vacations do you have left? How many jaw-dropping moments? How many fantastic meals? How many Super Bowls?
What about time with your parents or older relatives? It's easy to forget to call or to miss an important event because "life happens". But, if you realize you may have already used 95% of your in-person time with that person ... doesn't it become more special?
In my TEDx talk, I mentioned "living like you only have a year left" – and how much more "life" we got out of the last part of my dad's life.
That is an example, but I want to take it one step further.
To start, think of some of the activities you do, places you go, experiences you have that are special and make you feel like your best self.
Hitting flow-state and creating something new and exciting;
Taking an amazing vacation and experiencing something completely new;
Having a moment with someone you love that makes you stop and say - Wow!
Making a difference in someone's day or giving back to your community;
Experiencing peace and relaxation;
Feeling pure joy.
It's easy to get lost and take for granted these moments when they happen, but when you think about how much time you have left, they take a whole new meaning.
How can you maximize the time you have left? Fill it with the best experiences, activities, and people you can.
To start, think about different time frames:
What activities could you commit to doing at least once a year?
What activities could you commit to doing at least once a month?
What activities could you commit to doing at least once a week?
What activities could you commit to doing at least once a day?
Make those lists ... it is a simple way to get a better return on the time value of your life.
Seriously, try it.
Let me know how it worked for you – and what you chose.
There are numerous ways to look at or measure the global economy (including trade blocs, big industry movers, or debt). Another way to get a global overview is to compare GDP.
When trading was slower and more deeply tied to an investor mindset, economics played a more significant role in fundamental analysis. As the holding period (or "time in trade") shrinks, there is less focus on predicting markets over the long term ... and more on determining which techniques are making money now.
Even though markets are not the same as the economy, on a macro scale, many believe that it is possible to create value by understanding and the global economy better.
Global GDP was $87 trillion in 2019 and $84 trillion in 2020. So, while COVID did negatively impact GDP initially, it has rebounded and risen again as if 2020 hadn't interrupted the trend.
Since 2018, China has been slowly gaining ground on the U.S.'s lead
Global GDP isn't zero-sum, so countries doing better doesn't necessarily mean other countries are doing worse
The top four countries - U.S., China, Japan, and Germany - make up over half of the world's GDP.
Based on GDP growth, Libya, Guyana, Macao, the Maldives, and Ireland have the world's fastest-growing economies.
To put these numbers in perspective, the world economy was approximately $3 trillion in 1970, and GDP is estimated to double again by 2050.
But, sometimes, it's fun to see what others have to say as well.
Every year Visual Capitalist puts together a list of their predictions for the coming year. As we reach the final two weeks of 2021, I figure it's worth taking a look!
Honestly, that was a pretty good set of predictions. While some of this list didn't pan out, much of it did. We're seeing a growing exodus from major cities (where people lived to pursue opportunities previously available only in such places), movies are recovering, and hybrid work models are all the rage.
Could they have predicted how much of an issue COVID would pose throughout the year? Probably not.
As we near the end of 2021, there's a lot of uncertainty in the air.
Global markets have the jitters - and we don't see the increased volatility changing anytime soon.
What's going to happen as a result of the continuing pandemic, inflation, interest rates, the ongoing supply chain issues, and the growing anxiety and unrest brewing underneath the surface of the new normal? In January, we'll get to see VC's predictions. Before that, what do you expect to happen in 2022?
Looking at the list, we see new editions like Clubhouse and Strava. Partially due to the quarantine, you're still seeing an increase in digital cash transfers with tools like Venmo, an increase in e-commerce shops like Shopify, and an increase in (you guessed it) collaboration tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
Just to pick out some of the key figures in the chart this year.
Amazon users spend $283,000
6M people shop online
TikTok users watch 167M videos
and, Zoom hosts 856 minutes of webinars.
Before 2020, I already thought that big tech had a massive influence on our lives. Yet, somehow this past year has pushed their impact even higher.
One other thing this chart also helps put into perspective is the rapid rate of adoption. As you look at different year's charts, you can see how quickly apps have become part of the cultural zeitgeist.
How do you think these numbers will grow or change in 2022?
Batteries Not Included
Mercedes-Benz might have a sense of humor.
They lent Saturday Night Live a C-Class for a parody TV commercial that makes fun of battery-powered cars.
The 2-minute video, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, shows a car that runs on AA batteries (which is why the car is called the Mercedes AA Class).
Here is the video.
via SNL
One of the highlighted features, the "Auto-Dump," helps you discharge worn-out batteries ... all 9,648 of them.
The video ends with the disclaimer: "Batteries not included."
I hope you had a fun April Fool's Day.
Posted at 07:11 PM in Business, Current Affairs, Film, Gadgets, Ideas, Just for Fun, Market Commentary, Science, Travel, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0)
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