Re: Knowledge and Ignorance over Time

> David Cressey wrote:
>> Paul C. said that he's still far from a database expert. So am I. But
>> I've been learning, since about 1980.
>>
>> Over time (a long time!) I've noticed a pattern in the growth of my
>> knowledge.
>>
>> If my knowledge base is likened to a sphere in a boundless universe,
>> here's the pattern:
>>
>> My apparent knowledge grows like the radius of the sphere (like R).
>> My apparent ignorance grows like the surface area of the sphere
>> (like R squared).
>> And the number of things I must keep in my head grows like the
>> volume of the sphere (like R cubed).
>>
>> At some point, this looks like a case of diminishing marginal
>> returns. But I wouldn't choose to go back to being as ignorant as I
>> was when I was twenty, even if I got to be as smart as I was when I
>> was twenty.
>
Jay Dee wrote:
> Close, but:
> Area of a sphere = 4 pi r^2
> Volume of a sphere = 4/3 pi r^3

I believe the word "like," in this context, means "in proportion to." So, you are both right.

-- 
frosty (Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.)