Antipodean arithmetic

ewmayer · 2012-12-14, 20:13

Friday Humor:

In the wake of the Fed's latest announcement that it will buy upwards of $1T of US debt and other debt-related stuff per year for "as long as it takes", there's been much talk about whether the Fed has any kind of viable exit strategy.

I think I actually figured out what the Fed's "exit strategy" is:

"Keep digging, through the center of the earth if necessary, in hopes of eventually emerging on the other side."

The question is: where is "the other side" at which the eventual exit will occur? Hint: It's not in China. (Though our Chinese friends are strongly encouraged to resume robust buying of US debt in order to secure a piece of this great value proposition). No, using the publicly available geographical coordinates of the Fed-quarters building, (38.892778,-77.045833) puts the geographical antipode at (-51.107222,102.954167), which is in the southern ocean roughly midway between the SW corner of Australia and the nearest point of Antarctica.

But fear not - I'm sure Bernanke et al can cite an academic economic model which indicates that by the time their "keep digging ever faster and deeper" policy achieves a "breakthrough", there will be fertile "growthiness supporting" land as far as the eye can see at that location.

Prime95 · 2012-12-14, 21:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewmayer

using the publicly available geographical coordinates of the Fed-quarters building, (38.892778,-77.045833) puts the geographical antipode at (-51.107222,102.954167).

That doesn't pass the smell test. Your formula would put the antipode of the north pole somewhere on the equator.

Dubslow · 2012-12-14, 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prime95

That doesn't pass the smell test. Your formula would put the antipode of the north pole somewhere on the equator.

Indeed. The first coordinate should be simply -38.892778.

ewmayer · 2012-12-15, 01:56

As numerous readers have hastened to point out, my antipodean arithmetic suffers from one too many mod-distractions, resulting in topological infractions. The corrected location is still in the deep ocean off the SW coast of Oz, but at a much balmier latitude. Clearly, this is a much more economically feasible exit strategy.

---------------------

Corollary question for our UK readers: Were the mythical character of Mr. Ron Obvious from the famous Python sketch in fact real and did manage to tunnel from his home in the UK straight through to the opposite side of the globe, how close would his emergence point be to the planned exit somewhere on the island of Java? (35 pts, plus a possible 15 bonus points for style).]

Uncwilly · 2012-12-15, 06:47

I use this.
http://www.antipodemap.com/

kladner · 2012-12-15, 16:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

I use this.
http://www.antipodemap.com/

That is a fascinating tool! Chicago's antipodal point is well off the south west coast of Australia.

firejuggler · 2012-12-15, 16:43

(48.826842139609354, 2.5468969345092773) where I live, antipodal being S E of New Zeland (-48.826842139609354, -177.45310306549072)

xilman · 2012-12-15, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by kladner

That is a fascinating tool! Chicago's antipodal point is well off the south west coast of Australia.

As expected, I'm not far away from the antipodal point of Antipodes Island. The true antipodal point is near Cherbourg.

ewmayer · 2012-12-16, 20:17

Looks like I'm (= Cupertino, CA) about 1000 mi SE of the southern tip of Madagascar.

Now we just need to add a plate-tectonic animation feature, to enable us to determine how many millions of years it'll be before we hit "antipodal land". Uncwilly, know of any good tectonic-modeling apps?

science_man_88 · 2012-12-16, 21:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

I use this.
http://www.antipodemap.com/

how much of the land has an antipodal point that's on land ?

Brian-E · 2012-12-16, 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewmayer

Looks like I'm (= Cupertino, CA) about 1000 mi SE of the southern tip of Madagascar.

Now we just need to add a plate-tectonic animation feature, to enable us to determine how many millions of years it'll be before we hit "antipodal land". Uncwilly, know of any good tectonic-modeling apps?

Our progression around the globe due to plate tectonics would need to be measured relative to something else of course. What would change sufficiently slowly compared to continental drift to make a suitable frame of reference?

2012-12-14, 20:13	#1
ewmayer ∂²ω=0 Sep 2002 República de California 26526₈ Posts	Antipodean arithmetic Friday Humor: In the wake of the Fed's latest announcement that it will buy upwards of $1T of US debt and other debt-related stuff per year for "as long as it takes", there's been much talk about whether the Fed has any kind of viable exit strategy. I think I actually figured out what the Fed's "exit strategy" is: "Keep digging, through the center of the earth if necessary, in hopes of eventually emerging on the other side." The question is: where is "the other side" at which the eventual exit will occur? Hint: It's not in China. (Though our Chinese friends are strongly encouraged to resume robust buying of US debt in order to secure a piece of this great value proposition). No, using the publicly available geographical coordinates of the Fed-quarters building, (38.892778,-77.045833) puts the geographical antipode at (-51.107222,102.954167), which is in the southern ocean roughly midway between the SW corner of Australia and the nearest point of Antarctica. But fear not - I'm sure Bernanke et al can cite an academic economic model which indicates that by the time their "keep digging ever faster and deeper" policy achieves a "breakthrough", there will be fertile "growthiness supporting" land as far as the eye can see at that location.

2012-12-15, 01:56	#4
ewmayer ∂²ω=0 Sep 2002 República de California 2·7·829 Posts	As numerous readers have hastened to point out, my antipodean arithmetic suffers from one too many mod-distractions, resulting in topological infractions. The corrected location is still in the deep ocean off the SW coast of Oz, but at a much balmier latitude. Clearly, this is a much more economically feasible exit strategy. --------------------- Corollary question for our UK readers: Were the mythical character of Mr. Ron Obvious from the famous Python sketch in fact real and did manage to tunnel from his home in the UK straight through to the opposite side of the globe, how close would his emergence point be to the planned exit somewhere on the island of Java? (35 pts, plus a possible 15 bonus points for style).] Last fiddled with by ewmayer on 2012-12-15 at 03:39

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2012-12-15, 06:47	#5
Uncwilly 6809 > 6502 """"""""""""""""""" Aug 2003 101×103 Posts 247E₁₆ Posts	I use this. http://www.antipodemap.com/

2012-12-15, 16:43	#7
firejuggler Apr 2010 Over the rainbow 3²×281 Posts	(48.826842139609354, 2.5468969345092773) where I live, antipodal being S E of New Zeland (-48.826842139609354, -177.45310306549072)

2012-12-16, 20:17	#9
ewmayer ∂²ω=0 Sep 2002 República de California 2·7·829 Posts	Looks like I'm (= Cupertino, CA) about 1000 mi SE of the southern tip of Madagascar. Now we just need to add a plate-tectonic animation feature, to enable us to determine how many millions of years it'll be before we hit "antipodal land". Uncwilly, know of any good tectonic-modeling apps?