Something for all of us to get to work on after we’ve fixed the economy

From a four-year-old profile of string theorist Michio Kaku that is now for some reason the hottest story at guardian.co.uk:

“String theory predicts the universe is like a soap bubble that is expanding and dying,” he says. Billions of years from now stars will blink out; the night sky will be dark and the oceans will freeze over. But we may have an escape route. Our soap bubble co-exists with other soap bubbles; every time a black hole forms it may be creating a baby universe. The matter being sucked in may be blown out the other side, creating a white hole in a twin universe, which will expand very rapidly, like our own Big Bang.

“Perhaps, also, a Type III civilisation, which can harness the Planck energy, will open a hole in space and tunnel through a wormhole to a parallel, warmer universe. There is no other hope. Either leave the universe or die with it. If the wormhole is microscopic in size then we may send a nanobot that can reproduce itself indefinitely and create cloning factories to recreate the dead civilisation through it.”

Stocks Rally Further in Run-up to EU Summit

MOSCOW — Global stocks enjoyed one of their best days in weeks on Tuesday ahead of a summit of European leaders that’s expected to be dominated by calls to boost economic growth.

Europe remains the focus of attention across all financial markets in the run-up to the June 17 Greek election that could go a long way to determining the country’s membership of the euro as well as the future of the single currency zone.

dumdedumdum

Clearly, some quantum Keynesianism and a wormhole stimulus package is in order. Plus we can leave the deficits it will entail behind, in the last universe. Action, even action at a distance, is called for!
strawmn

Maybe this is the wrong place to vent about this, but string theory is the Brazil of science – always the worlds’ future. “We’ll get proof for our theories in the supercolliders! Ach! No proof! We’ll get proof in a slightly larger, more expensive supercollider! ACH! D*@#$*!”

It’s not that string theory is necessarily wrong, but it’s fiendishly complex and could very well be just a mathematical artifact, and it’s time people fessed up and admitted they bought it as a Theory of Everything because it’s brand-name sounded sexier than quantum-loop gravity.

Rant complete.
tanboontee

Fix the stock markets first before fixing the economy.

During my younger days in the 1950s and 1960s, stock markets were places where clean and honest investments took place. Then the oil crisis emerged in the early 1970s, and global stock exchanges went crazy.

The markets relegated gradually to a gigantic casinos, open yet secretive. Most decayed into gambling dens, or even worse. They were manipulations, short-changes, fraudulences, inflated-profits, under-counter dealings, speculations, ill-advices, you name it. Those in the know and the super rich had virtually the full control, and they thus got richer. The average and small time investors suffered all the beatings, often in melancholic silence.

There have been cycles of boom and bust almost every 11 years, much like the sun-spot activities. Signs of current economic crisis recovery seem emerging, but perhaps they are preparing for yet another even grander financial mayhem in 2020 – the year of the PERFECT VISION.

Don’t believe? It does not matter.
(Tan Boon Tee)
Justin Fox

@strawmn: So if Brazil really does have the world’s strongest economy over the next few years, that means Kaku’s on to something, right?
strawmn

@Justin,

Well, it wouldn’t be the first time one of my weak analogies were ruined by actual facts. I’d probably just say I didn’t remember posting that, then claim I was misquoted.

Bulletproof.