From the Ted Talk by Soraya Field Fiorio: The infamous overpopulation bet Simon vs. Ehrlich
Unscramble the Blue Letters
Betting against Ehrlich was Julian somin, a professor of business and economics. He analyzed historic data from around the world, and found no correlation between a growing ppoiuotaln and a decrease in standards of living— in fact, he found the opposite. He argued that Ehrlich’s work, and that of Malthus before him, was based on trieecothal calculations, while the real-world data told a different story. But then, he departed from the data himself, ciaimlng human igtinueny would always find alternatives to compensate for dhniisiming resources. If that seems overly optimistic to you, well, you're not alone. Ehrlich and other experts found Simon’s claims preposterous.
Open Cloze
Betting against Ehrlich was Julian _____, a professor of business and economics. He analyzed historic data from around the world, and found no correlation between a growing __________ and a decrease in standards of living— in fact, he found the opposite. He argued that Ehrlich’s work, and that of Malthus before him, was based on ___________ calculations, while the real-world data told a different story. But then, he departed from the data himself, ________ human _________ would always find alternatives to compensate for ___________ resources. If that seems overly optimistic to you, well, you're not alone. Ehrlich and other experts found Simon’s claims preposterous.
Solution
ingenuity
diminishing
theoretical
population
claiming
simon
Original Text
Betting against Ehrlich was Julian Simon, a professor of business and economics. He analyzed historic data from around the world, and found no correlation between a growing population and a decrease in standards of living— in fact, he found the opposite. He argued that Ehrlich’s work, and that of Malthus before him, was based on theoretical calculations, while the real-world data told a different story. But then, he departed from the data himself, claiming human ingenuity would always find alternatives to compensate for diminishing resources. If that seems overly optimistic to you, well, you're not alone. Ehrlich and other experts found Simon’s claims preposterous.