Category Archives: amusements

amusements, current affairs, science

Quantum Economics

This is an old one, but given the current dire situation of a good proportion of the Euro-zone countries, it seems strangely apposite — again!

Quantum Economics

The discussion of the creation of money and debt puts me in mind of the creation of virtual particle/antiparticle pairs in the vacuum. I wonder how many other Quantum Physics concepts can be applied to money.

Cash is not continuous but exists in discreet levels. The smallest quantum of money is called the Plank Penny.

Like energy and matter, money can be converted into things and vice versa. However during the conversion some money is always lost to a form of entropy called VAT.

It is not possible to be absolutely sure of both where your money is and how much it is worth. Finding out how much your money is really worth involves spending it which destroys the money. This is called the Uncertainty Principle.

Large accumulations of money distort the economic space around them producing an effect comparable to gravity. This is called the Million Pound Note effect.

Large accumulations of debt (anti-money) also have the effect of attracting more debt. Eventually the debt can collapse under its own weight forming a black hole. The space near a black hole is characterised by strong economic distortions such as hyperinflation and large amounts of spin.

The three laws of thermodynamics, apply equally to economics:
1. you can’t win
2. you can’t break even
3. you can’t get out of the game.

And the final reason why economics is like quantum physics? If you think you understand it, then you don’t really understand it at all.


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amusements

And there's yet more …

I just don’t know where our local auction house finds this stuff, but here’s a further selection of oddities from their latest sale.

A diamond and cabochon ruby nappy pin
[For the man who has everything]

A miniature of Nivrutti said to be by Hagargrundji

An advertising print dated 1903 showing a policeman on a horse drinking Cadbury’s cocoa “Most Refreshing”
[I knew that horses drink water, but not cocoa!]

A bottle of Nuits St Georges Grand Vin de la Cote D’Or 1955, a 2nd edition ‘The Heroes at the Victoria Cross’ painted by Harry Payne, twelve reliefs portraying the various deeds of daring valour performed by British soldiers from the Crimean War onwards, an old decorator’s handbook and a Tegamsee Bavarian doll, etc.

A George V silver square nut dish and an American nut dish similar …
[Ooo-errr Missus]

South American embroidered ties and carved nuts …
[Painful]

Five old metal underground signs, – via Bank, via Charing X, Northern Line, etc.

Two knob kerries, probably Zulu, each with two bands of plaited copper …
[And there was I thinking knob kerries were some sort of Scotch rock bun]

An important taxidermy specimen of a quetzal, mounted upon a branch rooted in moss, grasses and dead leaves, the glazed case with label of James Gardner …

A superb full length beaver fur coat, double breasted, half belt, pocket flaps
[Snigger]

A fantastic lot … including a Beswick robin, a Sylvac bowl, a large quantity of tea wares including Gladstone china Country Garden pattern, tea cups and saucers, vases, tureens, Coronation mug, ginger jar, balance scales, an old mincer, copper kettle, wooden elephants, Mrs Beeton’s Everyday Cookery, gardening book, a book by Vitalogy, CDs, a mobile record player, a Morris 1000, a metronome, handbags, Chinese figures, a wicker basket, silk scarf and fabrics, board games, scents, etc.

A stuffed otter and a stuffed otter head, the latter mounted on an oak board … in poor condition

A Brixton picnic hamper with original fittings …
[Is this a new euphemism for an Italian violin case?]

An electric single bed with mattress and frame
[Interesting variant on an electric fence! Presumably it’s to ensure your teenagers don’t misbehave?]

amusements, environment, science

Fact of the Week: Blue Moons

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The term “blue moon” comes from the traditional agricultural naming of the full moons throughout the year.

The 12 full moons we see each year are named according to their relationship with the equinoxes and solstices. The names vary in different regions, but well-known examples are the harvest moon, which is the first full moon after the autumnal equinox, and the hunter’s moon, which is the second full moon after the autumnal equinox. Similarly the Lenten moon, the last full moon of winter, is always in Lent, and the egg moon (or the Easter moon, or paschal moon), which is the first full moon of spring, is always in the week before Easter.

By this system there are usually three full moons between an equinox and a solstice, or vice versa. However, because the lunar cycle is slightly too short for there to always be three full moons in this stretch of time, occasionally there are four full moons. When this happens, to ensure that the full moons continue to be named correctly with respect to the solstices and equinoxes, the third of the four full moons is called a blue moon.

There are seven blue moons in every 19 year period. The last blue moon was on 21 November 2010, and the next will be on 21 August 2013.

[Aidan Copeland in “The Last Word”, New Scientist, 1 October 2011]