“The Three Theorems of Psychohistorical Quantitivity:The population under scrutiny is oblivious to the existence of the science of Psychohistory.The time periods dealt with are in the region of 3 generations.The population must be in the billions (±75 billions) for a statistical probability to have a psychohistorical validity.”

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov - “The Three Theorems of Psychohistorical...” 1

Similar quotes

“Our sun is one of a 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living thing in that enormous immensity.”

Wernher Von Braun
Read more

“USA Today has come out with a new survey: Apparently three out of four people make up 75 percent of the population.”

David Letterman
Read more

“Pyscho-history dealt not with man, but with man-masses. It was the science of mobs; mobs in their billions. It could forecast reactions to stimuli with something of the accuracy that a lesser science could bring to the forecast of a rebound of a billiard ball. The reaction of one man could be forecast by no known mathematics; the reaction of a billion is something else again.”

Isaac Asimov
Read more

“[Some diseases] are probably always present in population 'resrvoirs'... and in times of malnutrition or other adverse conditions [manifest]... as population controls.”

John Livingston. from "One Cosmic Moment"
Read more

“Indeed, for those in the West inclined to be critical of China, here are few cautionary facts. With its absolutely massive population (1.33 billion or one-fifth of the world's population) it's obvious that China should have a massive impact on the world. Yet, it's one-child policy, for all the uncomfortable ethical questions it raises and the painful sacrifice made by millions of Chinese families, means that China's annual percentage growth rate is low relative to the global average (0.49 per cent versus 1.13 per cent). Even with a population more than four times that of the United States (1.3 billion versus 0.3 billion), China's ecological footprint is still less than that of the US (2456 million global hectares versus 2730 million global hectares). In 2009, China invested far more than any other country in the clean energy industry – $34.6 billion or 0.39 per cent of its gross domestic product compared to United States' $18.6 billion or 0.13 per cent of GDP. When it comes to reforestation, China punches way above its numerical and geographical weight, with massive initiatives like the NFPP and SLCP helping seed some 4 million hectares of forest every year, which is probably more tree planting than the rest of the world put together.”

Henry Nicholls
Read more