The biggest shocks of the last decade?

[saffi]

In order for that to be true, each victim would have had to have known over 500 people.

Huh? How did you calculate that out?

[Bergtau]

Huh? How did you calculate that out?

I actually did the math wrong, it's over 250 people. I'm also rounding a bit.

So, the population of Norway is about 5 million. I'm assuming that the number of people that they know is the same as the number of people that they know know, if you get what I mean. This means that, in order to find that number, we do this:

sqrt(5000000/77)=~254

Still an absurdly large number of people to know.

[FathomFear]

For me its this supermassive housing bubble in China that is STILL GROWING. Its DWARFS the size of the US housing bubble. That thing is truly frightening. I would have thought that the US experiencing a housing crash on the global stage for all the world to see, and the resulting economic destruction is caused, would have led to China taking measure to avoid one of its own. Instead, they grew a vastly bigger one....

When that thing busts, it will crater the global economy FAR worse than 2008. 2008 will be a picnic by comparison.

Have any links/sources on this topic? Curious...

[lakisa]

WoW launch who would guess "single game" would take such big part of life for many people.

[Micfeind]

the X-Factor/Pop Idol/whatever winners going to number 1 every fracking year, the fact that people still watch that junk after the Nth season, .

Fear not, for the people rose up across the UK and got a victory for proper music, (different strokes for different folks) to number 1 back in 2009.
That was one of the happiest times I have witnessed in the last 10 years to say the least

[Powerogue]

WoW launch who would guess "single game" would take such big part of life for many people.

WoW launched within the last 10 years? I guess it did. o_O

Sure it may not shake the very foundations of this world but it's a pretty big deal among video games.

It might be more than the last 10 years, but the gradual rise of the internet and the information age in general is very striking. I grew up in a completely different world than my parents.

[Gothicshark]

No one mentioned 9/11? Weird...

11 years ago, granted it was the biggest shock of my life. However, in the last ten years. Nothing has really been shocking, a few minor I didn't see that coming.

A partially African descended President.
The Republicans going off the deep end.
2 wars in the Middle East.
Big headway towards equality in America.

[Whitepepper]

Big headway towards equality in America.

Some people gaining rights and some people losing rights isn't really headway is it?

[Dragonwing]

Discovering that light speed is no longer the fastest "thing" out there.

If you are referring to the whole CERN neutrino deal, there was an error in the measurements. Neutrinos do not travel faster than light. Electromagnetic waves are still the fastest thing out there.

[Sevyvia]

The planes flying into buildings in the US.

The universe speeding up, not slowing down will be bigger news in the long term, though.

[Fitzgerald77]

Why is the death of Heath Ledger so shocking to the OP? I mean really? Just becase he was a good actor in a few movies does not make him an amazing person..... JUST SAYIN...

For me, two of the biggest shocks in the past decade or so is 9/11 and the whole BP oil spill in the gulf of Mexico.

[Kalyyn]

Biggest shock for me was hearing about the Red Dawn remake. I was absolutely furious. I loved that movie and they had no right to do that!

It was like smearing dog shit on a canvas and then declaring "I have recreated Van Gogh's Starry Night!"

[Gothicshark]

Some people gaining rights and some people losing rights isn't really headway is it?

Who lost right? We are on the verge of of real Equality in America, the right is fighting tooth and nail to stop it, but the nation is moving forward.

[Djuntas]

Well for me its wow. Hey we're on a gaming forum :&

In general I still cant belive how mobile-market grew. I dont understand the hole "craze" about all these new technology's but w/e. I only got a smartish phone like 1 year ago. Until then I had used an old, old ericsson phone with not even coulor screen, was fine for me. He'll next to me at school I can take home a Samsung Galaxy II, but meh...cant see the point, what do I need a smart phone for`?

Also, just in general technology keeps amasing me, but I will admit it slowed abit down (last 5 years or so). Imagine how slow computers was just 10 years ago, and now

[Mancowski]

The question is : "The biggest shocks of the last decade?"

I think i see what you did there.

OT though, California having a petition to secede from the union, lol

[saffi]

I actually did the math wrong, it's over 250 people. I'm also rounding a bit.

So, the population of Norway is about 5 million. I'm assuming that the number of people that they know is the same as the number of people that they know know, if you get what I mean. This means that, in order to find that number, we do this:

sqrt(5000000/77)=~254

Still an absurdly large number of people to know.

If these people weren't public figures, that would be accurate. But these youths were very active politically speaking (rallies, marches, going door-to-door, school debates etc). These are people who are very hard to not notice.

Also, 500000 people live in Oslo alone. That's 1 out of 10 people affected by the bomb already, since you know..."I cancelled that trip to the city center" kinda thoughts and the sight of millitary with guns patrolling the streets..The millitary in uniform is pretty rare to see in itself. To see them with guns on the street, is something that never happens.

So yeah, most of us are affected in a way that bothers us without necessarily being in the blast zone or getting injured.

[Magister]

For me it surely was to realize how easy a war on Iraq could be started and waged, based on lies and deception.

[Jackmoves]

I actually did the math wrong, it's over 250 people. I'm also rounding a bit.

So, the population of Norway is about 5 million. I'm assuming that the number of people that they know is the same as the number of people that they know know, if you get what I mean. This means that, in order to find that number, we do this:

sqrt(5000000/77)=~254

Still an absurdly large number of people to know.

Not really, and it depends on how you define "know". You could know one of the people that was on the island but made it out alive for example and not one of the vics. That alone will lower the number significantly. There were 560 people on the island(going by wiki), not all norwegians(was some other scandinavians to for example) but say at least 500 of them was from Norway. Add the fact that 319 was injured(110 on Utöya, rest in Oslo)

Having had a mate/relative/whatever on the Island was surely going to affect you.

You'd have to be living isolated in a cave pretty much to not have been affected by it in some way.



To add to the topic:

Our Foreign Minister Anna Lindh getting murdered on the 11th september in 2003 was a bit of shocker for Sweden btw. She was one of our most beloved politicians, the "crown princess" of politics pretty much. We got no luck, all our greatest statesmen/women end up getting assasinated/murdered/killed!

[Doktor Faustus]

Also, how people seem to believe eveything printed in a newspaper, on Facebook and Tweeted.

The failing of the education system (or perhaps the success? /tinfoilhat) to prepare youngsters for how the real world has, and always will, work - ie being subjective, checking multiple sources.

Oh, the rise of the internet troll and all it's associated meme culture.

MTV generation mark 2.0.

Learn to swim.

[Reeve]

This was a shock? :P

Yeah, I remember when Bush started talking about Iraq out of left field, I was thinking, "This sounds like they're just reaching for justifications to invade where there are none." Needless to say, I was completely unsurprised by the lack of WMDs after the invasion.