September 30, 2006
An idea destroyed by physics and economics
So I'm reading an article about the increase in obesity when something said in passing gives me an idea.
The something said was that the cost of exercise has climbed enormously, switching from something that most people got paid to do, e.g shoveling coal, to something that people pay to do, e.g. go to the gym.
Then it hit me: why not simply harness all of the work people are expending when they exercise for economic purposes, say the generation of electricty, and pay people to go to the gym?
Turns out the answer is really straightforward: electricity costs between 5 and 10 cents per kWh. A kWh is 3.6 million Joules. The average person burns between 6 and 10 million joules per day.
In English, this means that if you hit the treadmill for 18 hours a day, you might earn a quarter by the end of it.
While this may approximate market value for a day's labor in, say, Malawi, even Mickey D's pays more than that around here. A huge gym filled to capacity with exercisers 24 hours a day might be able to generate $20 bucks by the end of the day.
Conclusions: 1) the Wachowski brothers are complete hacks; 2) Even at $70 a barrel, energy is incredibly cheap.
The article as such is worth reading anyway. It talks about the recent suggestion by a group of economists linking increased maternal employment with increased child obesity. Now there's an idea that's going to win the researchers some friends.
