Thursday Things: The Stars Are Right Edition
26 October 2023. Vol 5 No 43. By Dan McGirt. #220
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Some people call me a space cowgirl. Photo by Matthew Pablico on Unsplash
The final frontier
We’re hardcore techno-optimists here at Thursday Things — someday our flying car will come! As grim as news of the world can be at times, the overall trajectory of humanity still remains onward and upward.
Way upward…
This week I came across a paper arguing that more economic activity in space may be just what we need to increase economic growth, and thus prosperity and opportunity, here on Earth:
Expanding economic activity in space may offer a solution to secular stagnation
In this speculative article, I argue that the expansion of economic activity in space may offer a uniquely promising way to escape indefinitely from what economists call “secular stagnation,” a state of self-fulfilling, persistently sluggish economic growth that has increasingly threatened high-income countries.
Economists have pointed to both supply-side and demand-side drivers of secular stagnation, and space as a focal point for investment can—at least in principle—address both.
On the supply side, space is an unlimited frontier that, as have frontiers in the past, may inspire the individualism, innovation, and world-building needed to sustainably increase productivity and population growth.
On the demand side, public investment toward increased economic activity in space could meaningfully add to aggregate demand if it reached historical peak benchmarks in the United States.
The paper is a dense economics discussion of inputs, productivity measures, capital investments and other stuff that may or may not make your eyes glaze over, but here is the gist of the argument:
In brief, the potential is as follows. On the demand side, if the United States were to return to its historical peak levels of public-sector investment in space—as a share of federal government outlays or gross domestic product—it could directly add between $1.5 trillion and $3 trillion to demand over the next two decades and indirectly add, by inspiring private-sector investment in expanded space activities, potentially much more.
On the supply side, space might serve as a new and essentially infinite physical frontier, spurring dynamism, innovation, and thus productivity growth as have frontiers throughout history, but this time with no end point. Similarly, expansion into space is humanity’s only real option for sustained population growth in the long run. As far as I am aware, only space offers this combination of attributes.
Space is where it’s at.
Or, to sum it up more concisely, in the words of the late Casey Kasem: “Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!”
There’s gold in them thar stars! Photo by Michael on Unsplash
Nervous about math
Does doing math make you nervous? I’m far more of a words person, obviously, or I’d be solving quadratic equations right now instead of writing Thursday Things. I’ve forgotten most of what I learned in algebra, trig, and calculus.1 But that’s more from disuse than disdain. I actually enjoy working through a tricky math problem. Reteaching myself those subjects is actually on my Things To Do Eventually list.
I’d like even to learn some squiggle math, which is what I call the super advanced math that uses all the other Greek letters (pi, I get) and weird brackets and, well, squiggles for doing quantum physics and cryptography and financial modeling and whatnot.
I readily admit I don’t have a strong, or even feeble, grasp on all that. But neither does math cause me any particular stress or anxiety. I love encountering things I don’t know how to do, because that’s a new thing to learn!
Many other people, however, find the prospect of doing math more excruciating than exhilarating. Math gives them hives. If that’s you — read on!
In 1975, an anxiety clinic opened at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. This wasn’t your typical clinic: people didn’t go because they were fretful about their health or personal lives, they showed up to confront an overwhelming anxiety of doing maths.
Sheila Tobias, a US educator who wrote the book Overcoming Math Anxiety (1978), opened the clinic and interviewed hundreds of college students. Many were women who were told that ‘girls don’t do math’, while others had concluded ‘that they would either be good with numbers or with words but that they could not be good with both,’ she wrote in a 1990 article. It’s true that maths doesn’t have the best reputation. It’s not a subject widely known for being a good time or easy to do. ‘Maths seemed dreary, never any fun,’ Tobias wrote. For some people, however, this kind of negative perception translates into more than just a distaste.
WARNING! MATH AHEAD!
Do this maths problem: 34 minus 19. Do it in your head without paper, and then imagine another person watching you. How does that make you feel? Mark Ashcraft, a US psychologist who studied maths anxiety, described how people in his studies responded to solving similar problems. Many showed ‘unease or apprehension’. They had ‘trembling hands, nervous laughter, and so forth,’ he wrote. ‘Many ask, defensively, if their performance says anything about their overall intelligence.’
If you had a comparable response – uncomfortable physical sensations and worry about getting the right answer – you might have some degree of maths anxiety. It can range from mild to extreme: it’s defined as feeling any tension, apprehension or fear that interferes with doing maths or maths performance.
According to the article, about 93 percent of Americans report some degree of math anxiety and 17 percent report high levels. Similar numbers obtain in other countries.
It also discusses how math anxiety3 can hold you back in everyday life, in activities like shopping, managing your personal finances, or helping your kids with their homework. So what’s the solution?
I’ll refer you to the full article for all the details, but here are the bullet point headlines:
Understand that there is no such thing as a ‘maths person’. Anyone can do it.
Be aware of and challenge harmful maths stereotypes. Don’t listen to Barbie!
Slow down. Take a deep breath and take your time!
Write down your feelings. Basically, offload your anxious thoughts before tackling the problem.
Get out of a ‘right or wrong’ mindset. There is usually a right answer, but there are multiple paths to getting there.
Teach maths to someone else. For any subject, teaching it to someone else is one of the best ways to learn it yourself and get more confident in what you know.
Embrace the struggle. The struggle is real.
I’d also suggest checking out Khan Academy.
And this related article linked the 10 June 2021 edition of Thursday Things (because we’ve covered this topic before): You’re not destined to be bad at maths. You just may need to tackle your ‘mathephobia’.
If you are one of the math anxious — or even have full on mathemaphobia — I hope this helps!
Squiggles! Photo by Artturi Jalli on Unsplash
Thank you for reading!
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Geometry stuck better, for some reason.
You can tell this article is British because they say maths instead of math, which would be the American usage. Maths sounds quaint to me, yet also vaguely more sophisticated. Either way, it’s short for mathematics, which is far to many syllables.
Being American, I’m not going to say maths.