Andy Kiersz

Charts, maps, and obsessing over labor markets. Economic data editor @businessinsider.

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

Prediction is a fool's game.

[Noah Sheidlower @NSheidlower]

In September, I had the idea for @BusinessInsider to make a Google form asking older Americans to share their biggest life regrets. I expected to get 100-200 responses. I did not expect it to pull in 2,600 (and for another 1,000+ to email us). https://t.co/NUBHiDZTN0

[juliana kaplan @julianamkaplan]

i think they should do a 37.5 rate cut :) then we all can be friends :)

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

@tylerlauletta NIN's the downward spiral just turned 30 and i am a corpse

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

@JayShams @WaltHickey They’re very very very occasionally useful!!!!!!!

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

@HarringtonBecca god, rebecca i'm so sorry

[Noah Sheidlower @NSheidlower]

@MorePerfectUS Read more here: https://t.co/NWKnUoROHe

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

@tedlieu Like the 20 million years is across the whole species; individuals could roam idk 20-ish light years at a time and settle nearby systems, just do that over a couple hundred thousand generations and boom, galactic empire

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

Okay I’ve always wanted to do a thread on the Fermi paradox so why not now. My specific take on it is that humanity is the only technologically advanced species in at least the Milky Way and maybe the observable universe

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

@tedlieu Sure sure sure but like that was the figure for the whole galaxy. 5% light speed you’re 25-100 years from nearby stars, colonize those, start the next generation, they go another 100 years out, repeat.

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

But something like angry tool using social big brained weirdos like us, no way they don’t make a move to seize the whole galaxy unless everyone like us nukes/climate changes themselves every time

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

Notably I have no idea about other types of life. Probably a lotta planets have bacteria or their equivalents, that seems to have happened pretty quick on earth so maybe that parts easy.

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

Maybe most planets have like advanced life that’s a bunch of super chill space whales, idk.

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

Given that this clearly hasn’t happened since we exist and there’s no alien overlords hanging out, either we’re the first or every species like us kills itself inevitably or there’s something stopping a species like us from taking the galaxy over

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

The first species that’s remotely like us - smart, aggressive, expansionist - is gonna take this whole thing over before life on any other planet can figure lungs out

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

That’s not nothing but it’s also kind of a short minute on geological time scales. The dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. Animals started walking on land like 400 million years ago. Multicellular life is like 700 million years old.

[Andy Kiersz @AndyKiersz]

@WaltHickey I am going to choose to believe the yellow books are springer-verlog graduate texts in mathematics