10:23, Friday 25 Nov., 2005 Link

In 1960, there were 3 billion people. Forty years later, that has doubled. The UK population has increased by 20% in that time, but still, that's a lot. It amazes me that the institutions and systems of government in place 4 or 5 decades ago still work. Have other changes really soaked up a doubling of our requirement of resources?

Here's a theory. You know when you use an old tape measure, it's always slightly too long? You put that down to the fabric stretching over time, as I do. But what if it actually is too long? Since 1960, they've been putting stuff in the water so that we get smaller and need less food. That's why we can fit so many more people in. That's why Victorian architecture seems so gigantic, and cathedrals even more so. At the time, they were a more comfortable fit.

The Creationists have the right idea with their "giantism": Adam was 15 feet tall; Noah was 12 feet.