Mag Perception

Saul and Mike tally up how much energy Earth actually has -- solar, fossil, nuclear, wind, geothermal, tidal -- and work out whether any of it is enough to get a ship to Tau Ceti, with Project Hail Mary's astrophage as the yardstick.

Saul and Mike climb the mag scale of computing, using RAM as a proxy for compute power, from the Apollo guidance computer and the Apple II up to today's machines, and what each mag of memory made possible.

Saul and Mike talk about water, from the Moldau to the Niagara to the Amazon, and glaciers, icebergs, car washes, and hamburgers.

Saul and Mike explore the magnitudes of various populations of creatures on earth, from humans to buffalo to chickens to roundworms to bacteria.

Saul and Mike talk with William Towey of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority about the magnitude of homelessness in Seattle, from the first recorded homeless settler in 1854, to 16,000 counted homeless people in 2024.

Saul and Mike discuss what each mag level of wealth feels like, how the cost of debt changes between levels, and how long it would take a wealth tax to materially affect a billionaire.

Mass, mining, precious metals, and the periodic table.

Decibels and frequencies and hot peppers. Making Fech a thing.

Saul and Mike talk about Archimedes, the size of the Universe, and the speed of light.