You may or may not have heard the news that the 80th UN General Assembly, currently in session under the motto “Better Together” and under the presidency of Ms. A. Baerbock of Germany, has decided to admit a 16th member to the Security Council.
The motion was introduced by the delegate from St. Kitts and Nevis, who surprised the Assembly with the information that UN membership has grown from 51 countries in 1945 to 193 today.
None of the permanent members of the Security Council exercised their veto. The US delegation, however, noted with concern that the new seating arrangements would require a complete refurbishment of the chamber, and that it would not contribute to the cost of new chairs if they were sourced from IKEA or any other company overseas. This position was seconded by the delegate from Ghana, who favored a decor incorporating gold and teak wood, while generously offering discounted rates for both commodities. Tumult ensued when the delegate from Mauritius insisted that “overseas” meant everyone except Mauritius.
As a cost-containment measure, the General Assembly discussed and agreed that the circumference of the round table should be enlarged by no more than one meter, which was considered sufficient to accommodate the 16th member of the Security Council, provided everyone else moved just a little closer together.
Because of the additional space required for the larger table, the US delegation suggested demolishing the old UN building and replacing it with a larger and more beautiful edifice that could double as a ballroom. Russia objected, arguing that member states’ contributions should not be used to inflate real estate prices in the United States.
As no immediate compromise could be found, a task force was formed to study the matter. However, due to several ongoing wars and a number of planned invasions, members reported scheduling conflicts, and the inaugural meeting of the working group has now been postponed until sometime in 2028.
Trying to be helpful, and even though my UN laissez passez expired 11 years ago, I somehow managed to gain access to the conference hall.
To simplify matters, here is an AI-generated version of the Security Council chamber, currently arranged for 15 members. The circumference of the table is 30 meters.
Taking a string around the table, I spliced an additional one-meter section into it and arranged the enlarged loop concentrically on the floor to simulate the size of the expanded table. I quickly discovered that the radius of the table would increase by less than 16 centimeters. The new table would fit neatly into the existing chamber, allowing the enlarged Security Council to continue resolving questions of war and peace without razing any buildings or engaging in lengthy reforms.
Encouraged by this success, I began imagining a rope wrapped tightly around the Equator of our beautiful Earth, exactly as I had done at the Security Council table.
Suppose I were to splice a one-meter section into this 40,000 kilometer long rope. By how much would the rope lift off the ground? Standing somewhere on the Equator, would we even notice the difference?
Let me know your estimate in the comments below.
More from Detlef Palm
Write to Detlef at detlefpalm55@gmail.com
I forgot to disclose that the picture of the earth was generated with the help of artificial intelligence.
ReplyDelete15.9 cl?
ReplyDeleteThese Uniscare cm
ReplyDeleteI used AI
ReplyDeleteWhat makes this puzzle fascinating is that the increase in radius remains exactly the same regardless of the size of the circle. Whether it is the UN Security Council table or a rope wrapped around the entire Earth, adding just one extra meter to the circumference increases the radius by only about 15.9 centimeters. Surprisingly, even around the 40,000 km Equator, the rope would lift off the ground by roughly the height of a small ruler. A beautiful reminder that mathematics can be wonderfully counterintuitive.
ReplyDeleteAI is even destroying these lovely puzzles. Should it be dealt with in a sort of Luddite-like way?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the fun in using AI to solve puzzles?
ReplyDeleteIt seems we have a number of former Maths teachers among our membership. I had the very good fortune to be taught maths by an extraordinary Priest who was a wrangler as well. It was he who told me that George Bernard Shaw wrote, 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach' or something along those lines.
ReplyDeleteThat said, it didn't describe him. He had the record for the number of pupils he taught who obtained distinctions in maths. In the whole of South Africa, in one year, there were 54 pupils who gained a maths distinction. 27 of those were his pupils in one class in his school. Gifted he was. He showed us this circular conundrum in 1957, so it's been around for some time.
Apologies. I should have qualified the distinctions being for maths in the matriculation exams.
ReplyDeleteon a more serious note, might appreciate the recent article in may june foreign affairs by Former SG U Thants Grandson. the crumbling powers of global peace.... The forgotten power of the united nations. It is not all bad news, he points out 2 main things.
ReplyDeleteThat need to be brought back in the general consciousness.: no war, and no empire.
here is a link that I think will allow you to see without subscribing https://link.foreignaffairs.com/click/45826227.197521/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZm9yZWlnbmFmZmFpcnMuY29tL3VuaXRlZC1zdGF0ZXMvY3J1bWJsaW5nLXBpbGxhcnMtZ2xvYmFsLXBlYWNlP3V0bV9tZWRpdW09bmV3c2xldHRlcnMmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1mYXRvZGF5JnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1UaGUlMjBDcnVtYmxpbmclMjBQaWxsYXJzJTIwb2YlMjBHbG9iYWwlMjBQZWFjZSZ1dG1fY29udGVudD0yMDI2MDUyMSZ1dG1fdGVybT1BJnV0bV9pZD1B/671da8d0c50d6e7e17037a03Eaf9341fe
my AI joke was related to Arithmetic Intelligence - I recalled far back to my days in geometry - my teacher was Mr Rhinehart, and knew I had to subtract 2 circumferences - and then checked actual AI to see if I was correct. It was indeed a fun puzzle - and Detlef is the only Rep I had who was a mathmetician. He used math to challenged the ONE UN Reform concepts like the ONE UN HOUSE - which costs WAY more than UNICEF being in an office alone as we struck far better deals with landlords than UNDP/UNRCO who just bent over and accepted any offer of free government space - even if free was actually double the cost of renting.
ReplyDelete