Looking God in the Eye

Glen posted this article on Agoraphilia today. He tangentedly alluded to the creation of land and how, despite real estate agents' claims that God's not creating any more of it, it is possible. Though Glen said he'd explain how this possible in a post-to-be, it's a phemonomen too exciting to pass up on. I'd thought I'd beat him to the punch (and if more than six people read this blog, that would mean something).

Technically, Glen is wrong. It's true that more land won't be created. For all intents and purposes, the amount of land is finite and fixed. But that's a nit-picky distinction because I know that Glen isn't really referring to land; he's referring to space.

Space is what people care about, not land. That's why companies build higher and higher buildings. Space is created though land remains fixed. To illustrate, consider the country of Bangledesh.

Bangledesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Naturally, people thought that lots and lots of tall buildings would be needed in this small, dense country to house the ballooning populations. Skyscapers soared all over the country, especially in the capital of Dhaka.

Then something strange happened. The price of renting these apartments plumented; builders built too many buildings. Too much space was created.

Don't listen to your real estate agent.