<story><title>There Are Whales Alive Today Who Were Born Before Moby Dick Was Written (2013)</title><url>https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-whales-alive-today-who-were-born-before-moby-dick-was-written-660944/?no-ist</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>erikstarck</author><text>The book &amp;quot;Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies&amp;quot; (phew, long name!) is a fascinating read about how the lifespan of whales, humans and shrews are connected and all mammals are basically the same type of system only scaled to various degrees. Example: the number of heartbeats during the full lifespan of a whale and a shrew is more or less the same. Bigger body =&amp;gt; longer lifespan.&lt;p&gt;It then goes on to analyse how cities and companies grow using the same system thinking. Why do cities survive for  centuries while companies typically go under after a few decades?&lt;p&gt;Highly recommended.</text></comment>
<story><title>There Are Whales Alive Today Who Were Born Before Moby Dick Was Written (2013)</title><url>https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/there-are-whales-alive-today-who-were-born-before-moby-dick-was-written-660944/?no-ist</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>lifeisstillgood</author><text>I am currently reflecting on the passage of time - the last two (working) decades have seemed like a flash of missed opportunities and amazing opportunities grasped and children born and growing&lt;p&gt;But to have two centuries of children and companions ... well that&amp;#x27;s just amazing.&lt;p&gt;(On the other hand the whales are probably thinking something like &amp;quot;you harpoon wielding ape bastards, wait till our spaceship returns we&amp;#x27;ll have you then&amp;quot;)</text></comment>