To the Editors of the CRIMSON:
With reference to the story in Tuesday's CRIMSON about population and the mass of the earth, a little arithmetic checking seems in order. The mass of the earth is approximately 6x1024 kilograms. Assuming that the average mass of a human being is 50 kilograms (110 lbs.), then 35 billion people would have a mass of 1.75x1012 kilograms. This differs from the mass of the earth by a factor of 3x1012.
I hope this error arose from a misquote, for it surely must be hoped that the scientists at the Harvard Center of Population Studies don't usually make mistakes on this order (3x1012) every day. Michael Whinihan '67
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