Joel Cohen: An Introduction to Demography (Malthus Miffed: Are People the Problem?) | Big Think

Joel Cohen: An Introduction to Demography (Malthus Miffed: Are People the Problem?)
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Professor Joel Cohen first asks and answers the question, "How did humans grow from small populations on the African savannah to almost seven billion people?" After holding steady for thousands of years, the world population exploded after 1800, more than tripling in 200 years. And while the rate of population growth is slowing down, Cohen shows how high birth rates in poor countries are turning societies on their head and leading to explosive problems in the future. Can we prevent an outcome where rich western countries are in permanent population decline while cities in Africa, South America, and Asia swell into massively overcrowded slums with no access to education, healthcare, or hope? Cohen applies demography to this pressing question with fascinating results.
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JOEL COHEN:
Joel E. Cohen is a mathematical biologist and Professor of Populations at Rockefeller and Columbia Universities. His research deals with the demography, ecology, epidemiology and social organization of human and non-human populations and with mathematical concepts useful in these fields. The author of 14 books, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the Sheps Award from the Population Association of America, the Distinguished Statistical Ecologist Award, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 1999 and the Mayor's Award for Excellence in Science and Technology from the Mayor of the City of New York, Michael R. Bloomberg in 2002. Professor Cohen has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. He lives in New York.
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TRANSCRIPT:
My name is Joel Cohen
I’m Professor of Populations at the Rockefeller University and at Columbia University in New York City.
My background is partially in public health and partially in applied mathematics.
Why should you consider taking a course in demography in college?
You will be growing up in the generation where the baby boomers are going into retirement and dying. You will face problems in the aging of the population that have never been faced before.
You will hear more and more about migration into the United States and in some cases, out, into Europe and out between rural areas and cities.
You need to understand as a citizen and as a tax payer and as a voter what’s really behind the arguments.
INTRODUCTION TO PROBLEMS IN DEMOGRAPHY
I want to tell you about the past, present and future of the human population. So let’s start with a few problems. Right now, a billion people are chronically hungry. That means they wake up hungry, they’re hungry all day and they go to sleep hungry. A billion people are living in slums, not the same billion people, but there is some overlap. Living in slums means they don’t have tenure in their homes, they don’t have infrastructure to take the garbage away, they don’t have secure water supplies to drink.
Nearly a billion people are illiterate. Try to imagine your life being illiterate. You can’t read the labels on the bottles in the supermarket, if you can get to a supermarket. Two-thirds of those people who are illiterate are women and about 200 to 215 million women don’t have access to the contraceptives they want so that they can control their own fertility.
This is not only a problem in developing countries; about half of all pregnancies are unintended. So those are examples of population problems.
DEMOGRAPHY AS A TOOL FOR SOLUTIONS
Demography gives you the tools to address and to understand these problems. It’s the study of populations of humans and non-human species that includes viruses like influenza, the bacteria in your gut, plants that you eat, animals that you enjoy or that provide your domestic animals. And it includes non-living objects like light bulbs, and taxi cabs and buildings because these are also populations. And it includes the study of these populations in the past, present and future using quantitative data and mathematical models as tools of analysis.
I see demography as a central subject related to economics, to human wellbeing as in material terms; related to the environment, to the wellbeing of the other species with which we share the planet; and the wellbeing and culture which affects our values and how we interact with one another.
WORLD POPULATION: THE PAST...
Read the full transcript at bigthink.com/videos/global-po...

[@bigthink]

Not exactly cog sci, but in the same arena... we have a lecture in this series by Steven Pinker (Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain). We're releasing a new lecture (there a total of 12) every upcoming Saturday and Wednesday. Since you've expressed interest I'll plan to release the Pinker lecture this Saturday. Stay tunes and thanks for watching!

[@shzarmai]

Excellent Video

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[@RRSA97]

Don't you just love the way he talks? I wish this guy could replace all of my teachers.

[@o.o3508]

omg same dude

[@nadhmialkhamis929]

@@o.o3508 dh

[@sirzig]

Perfect tempo and cadence. And his transitions between subjects are great.

[@madhavtawari2228]

that would decline the population

[@excentricity]

"I am a woman... you might not know it but I am." "There is a little place over here in New Jersey which is my favourite nudist colony, and it would be completely underwater. So that would be a terrible thing to happen." "Pull up your pants, and get to work." This guy is hilarious

[@josephyoung6749]

plus the shirt that's 3 sizes too large... love it

[@CosmoZengeya]

He had to drop it like its hot in there, "i am a woman".... great presentation though...

[@bigthink]

Thanks Matt! We have 10 more that we'll be unrolling in this series. Right now we've also released Michio Kaku's Universe in a Nutshell. I'll place a link to that in the description and start a playlist. We'll unroll these one at a time the upcoming Saturdays and Wednesdays, so check in then for more. Thanks for watching!

[@bigthink]

There are 10 more FU lectures that we'll be releasing over the coming weeks. Next up is Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain We'll publish that one this Saturday - stay tuned and thanks for watching! (Those extra E's and O's really convinced us to respond, by the way.)

[@deterdinghenry3592]

I'm starting with Demography at 62. This young man gave me the best lesson I ever received

[@iainronald4217]

I wanted to thank you for this! I’m an urban planning student and just got a prerequisite exemption for a regional planning course. The prerequisite was a demographics course my university has never offered. So, today I decided to try and bridge the gap in my knowledge and I found this! Thank you again 🙏

[@bigthink]

Is the caption translation working?

[@bucketofbarnacles]

This has to be one of the best expository videos on KZbin. Mr. Cohen’s presentation is a magic mix of data, riveting storytelling, and masterful exposition and explanations. The only additional thing I could wish for is for the US and other governments across the world to hire him and others in his domain to help drive the right political decisions. Thanks for hosting him and keeping this video available.

[@27jackstreet]

These videos are literally the most helpful and informative videos on the internet. I hope Big Think can make more of them.

[@kinnish5267]

We have massive population decline all over the world with the exception of sub-saharan Africa. I attended a Paul Erlich lecture at Stanford in 1970. He predicted mass starvation in the world and in America by 1985. Population decline in 2022, is in every nation on earth especially India and China which has 40% of the world's population. Plus, urban populations have radically falling birthrates. Be careful where you get info.

[@LKxxROXSTAR15]

37:16 and on... hunger being invisible economically, what an interesting insight...and about supporting agriculture research for agriculture that actually supports those that are chronically hungry... (just putting this here in case someone wanted the timestamp where he mentions these topics)

[@paolorizzo7677]

I regard this video the most inspirational, instructive and interesting video that I have seen so far. Thanks! for your time to share your knowledge. I wanna compliment this channel for this opportunity. Keep up the good stuff !

[@cristianfcao]

I congratulate BigThink form making long videos on a subject such as this one or Kaku's recent video about physics. I love your usual short videos, but there are SO many subjects that deserve long videos! Please keep them coming!

[@kurrizzle]

That. Was awesome. Thank you so much. I really loved the smooth animations, the calm demeanor of Mr. Miffed, and the overall organization and presentation of the information. Having more of these in the future would help many identify what they would want to do in their lives, and just educate people in general. Again, thanks. That was awesome.

[@annecalano6035]

I was assigned to report this topic to the class and I am having a hard time to understand everything about this. All thanks to Mr. Joel Cohen I can give a more fruitful discussion to the class. This is so informative in every way possible.

[@kinnish5267]

This man is utterly wrong about demographics but has nice visual aids. We have massive population decline all over the world with the exception of sub-saharan Africa. I attended a Paul Ehrlich lecture at Stanford in 1970. Ehrlich predicted mass starvation in the world and in America by 1985. Population decline in 2022, is in every nation on earth especially India and China which has 40% of the world's population. Plus, urban populations have radically falling birthrates. Be careful where you get info.

[@Raptor747]

Okay, I've been watching with rapt attention for ten minutes about demography, despite knowing the total video is 45 minutes long. Amazing job on turning this lecture into a very interesting, creative, varied presentation. The editing, graphics, animations, sounds, speaking, visuals, and wording was all fantastic.

[@shadowphoenix4]

I really enjoy these longer lectures. Keep them coming!

[@inveele]

Just fascinating how elegantly he conveys his train of thought.

[@ZachCraft1396]

I found this very interesting. Who knew I'd enjoy sitting through a lecture at 11 PM after work and school?

[@CakeHebenstreit]

This is great. These longer videos are amazing. Please keep them coming!

[@Etidorhpa]

I have learned so much from these videos. They are wonderful! Never stop making them :D

[@sahul9252]

"Sometime in 2009, 1 in every 7 US household lacked enough money or resource to buy food for all family members"...shocking indeed

[@theresaallauigan5481]

Loved and enjoyed every minute of it. Very interesting and informative. Thanks a lot!

[@Andee148]

After watching this, my views about life has completely changed.I never thought, I could help the world in such a broader sense.I really thank you from the bottom of my heart for this excellent video.

[@supermonkeywtf09]

Thank you very much for uploading this video, I have my external 'AS' level examinations coming up for my school, I watched this video and made 8 pages of notes and diagrams that are very helpful. I look forward to seeing more content from esteemed people such as Cohen.

[@Sea97]

I wish my university lectures were like this!!!! Wanna learn more! Thank you!

[@Beer_Dad1975]

This was great, glad I took the time to watch it. More longer videos like this please!

[@Gumikrukon]

This was absolutely fascinating!

[@kristinlegault9168]

This documentary is incredibly interesting and helpful, and I am looking forward to learning about demography throughout my university studies.

[@kinnish5267]

We have massive population decline all over the world with the exception of sub-saharan Africa. I attended a Paul Ehrlich lecture at Stanford in 1970. He predicted mass starvation in the world and in America by 1985. Population decline in 2022, is in every nation on earth especially India and China which has 40% of the world's population. Plus, urban populations have radically falling birthrates. Be careful where you get info.

[@AppA]

The only reason I browse the web is to learn more, especially through awesome presentation of information like what you and other fine people are providing, transferring content which both awes and factually informs people at the same time is just a magnificent tool for understanding different (new and perhaps unknown) perspectives. That and the study of human anatomy.

[@cormano64]

Yes, I've been wanting to get a grasp of this stuff for YEARS!!!!!! Thank you!

[@verdicktrobin]

How can people already like and dislike a video that's over 40 minutes long yet has only been posted here for 10 minutes?

[@63yearoldskater]

This was very good. I would love to see a follow-up video, now that it's 2021

[@BrentNally]

This video is basically what I am always trying to explain to my friends, family and coworkers. Great video to show people who don't already know this information.

[@taylorcarrieann]

Thank you, Joel Cohen!! I learned a great deal from your video and found it completely engaging. You have a wonderful ability to make complex ideas simple, relevant, and connected to oneself. Your use of visuals really enhanced the talk. I will definitely use clips or all of this video in my grade 11 Social Studies class (in British Columbia, Canada). Thanks, also, for finishing with solutions - it's the launchpad for ideas into action. Glad you to shared your ideas with the me/the world!

[@kinnish5267]

This man is utterly wrong about demographics but has nice visual aids. We have massive population decline all over the world with the exception of sub-saharan Africa. I attended a Paul Ehrlich lecture at Stanford in 1970. He predicted mass starvation in the world and in America by 1985. Population decline in 2022, is in every nation on earth especially India and China which has 40% of the world's population. Plus, urban populations have radically falling birthrates. Be careful where you get info.

[@swcoast]

34:00 Awesome. 43:00...very cleverly put. All in all, great presentation. Thanks a lot!

[@stipsazg]

BigThink this is likely the best work you produced so far. - Mr Miffed thank you for your great lecture.

[@rudrakshsananse]

great work pls upload all lectures

[@Bestietvcute]

nice info to know .. you got me very interested in the subject professor !

[@dragonrykr]

Our professor sent us this video on the first class today. Anyone had the same experience?

[@roberttorres5426]

This is so good! Thank you so much for the upload!

[@solasagusdochas]

Great insight on our Shared global past, present and potential futures in how human activity directly shapes regional cultures and associated stresses flowing on to our shared environments. Informative and well executed demonstration of benefits of demography for predicting future demands on society. Well done.

[@Mattio_]

Very good video. Videos like this are what should be posted. With graphs and data that is mathematically backed up and good enough to understand, and a person who makes sense when he speaks. This has given me a better perspective of population and what is involved with it all, a lot more than I expected. Nice 1 BigThink

[@littlehouseinthebigapple5716]

Some of these lectures are so good! This is one.

[@bartwillemsza]

Great info. BUT ADVERTS DURING THE FILM IS ANNOYING, ESPECIALLY WHEN I SHOW THIS IN CLASS, IT IS UNACCEPTABLE

[@NWforager]

uh.. ad-blocker

[@kicsiqki]

Great seminar! Thanks for sharing it.

[@efendor]

Great lecture!!!! Thank you mr Miffed for all your effort. Now it is all on us.

[@davidestebanrojasospina1278]

This is amazing, i'm currently studiying sociology but as soon as i finish i'll go for a master degree in demography!

[@coolconfuzer]

want fries with that?

[@davidestebanrojasospina1278]

Please.

[@omedomedomedomedomed]

Hope you can join. Demography (including fertility, mortality, and migration) is very very very interesting, but seldom universities can offer demography master degree. Demography can be divided into 'formal demography' (need lots of mathematical and statistical knowledge) and 'population studies' (is more closed to sociology, economics, ......)

[@ryanbacon29]

I used this video with my grade 12 World Issues class. They seemed engaged with the content! Great stuff!

[@qwertyuiopaaaaaaa7]

Thank you for making this video. I really think that at least this level of understanding of demography is important for everyone to know, I'll definitely be sending it to my friends and teachers.

[@GrimTheCrow]

Awesome! He even refers to it as a conversation at the end of it :) There are many great thoughts here and i will definitely watch it again.

[@AARNOLD9999]

Just Finished watching this, i was amazed by how good the profesor was. I've never had a teacher who actually cared for their subject before. What this man adresses is very important but I do have a relatively hard time following at sertain points. Iam a young swedish teenager thought.

[@joshabrillo4237]

Seriously, ive been spending so much time browsing in youtube but i found this more valuable information than any other.

[@olongrichardj224]

I love the way you channel it, perfect God Bless you, Baba,

[@OllyMay95]

This was actually really interesting and a total eye opener, wish there was someplace near me that gave courses in Demography.

[@orozco545]

The BigThink is truly one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@bartenderba]

Very interesting, I enjoyed this thoroughly. Thank you.

[@AbdulRehman-pt8xh]

thousands of thanks sir sharing your knowledge about demography

[@CretuRadu]

Just amazing. I wish I could afford or at least to have the opportunity to learn in such a great school!

[@greenmonkeypoo321]

Thank you! This lecture is so helpful.

[@r.l.ceniza5536]

Kaway-kaway sa mga taga Liceo diha

[@tomaalimosh]

Awesome voice this guy has. Hard asleep during his lecture not to fall will be.

[@turningundead]

some hope is coming. indias birth rate in half of its regions have fallen below replacement level. pakistan has gone from 3.8 children in 2010 to now 2.8 children in 2014. Africa is the only continent today that has a high birth rate.

[@antoniofdez]

Congratulations to this channel, this video was excellent, I enjoyed it very much.

[@SuperYouVIN]

I really like the content of this video. Anticipating more contents to come. Bring it on!

[@behemothokun]

this is very interesting, thank you for posting this.

[@rebecakg]

wonderful video i just learned a lot, is pretty interesting . THANKS!

[@choimunphin]

Absolutely amazing!

[@swatcool]

Thanks for a great presentation.very very good and formative..

[@Hephaeston]

Very interesting and thought provoking as usual :)

[@jrok452]

So many great ideas we can all share with other people, no one can stop an idea

[@A1rE]

To be honest, I don't really care about the stats, graphs and whatnot. I came here for the perspective and concept presented. It's an fascinating subject that is fun to think about from time to time.

[@Merit_Anthony]

Best lecturer ever

[@bigthink]

Floating University. It's a reference to the idea that these professors are from a variety of Universities and "in the cloud." Also, FU makes for some interesting head scratching, which is fun. Learning doesn't have to be serious or boring. So FU.

[@severedize]

Brilliant presentation! This man is a great teacher,many thanks!

[@kinnish5267]

This man is utterly wrong about demographics but has nice visual aids. We have massive population decline all over the world with the exception of sub-saharan Africa. I attended a Paul Ehrlich lecture at Stanford in 1970. He predicted mass starvation in the world and in America by 1985. Population decline in 2022, is in every nation on earth especially India and China which has 40% of the world's population. Plus, urban populations have radically falling birthrates. Be careful where you get info.

[@TheVloggingGaijin]

I love how the three circles make up the tripod of life:D

[@sendchad]

AAA Flawless and well constructed presentation. I Love Kaku but this was really impressive too!

[@lucaselviserickson]

His name is Joel Coen. He's talking about Thomas Malthus, who in the late 1800s predicted (or 'miffed') that population would eventually devastate the earth.

[@mocurio]

Thank you, Joel Cohen, for your wise lecture. We both agree on what to do for our lives, people's lives, and for the earth.

[@TacticalChaos360]

This is excellent. Thank you so much for uploading it! It's like a free intro to demography college class. Excellent information!

[@godsmight10]

If you keep these coming the whole internet will become a smarter, better place

[@MrAeroSpinz66]

This video is great! If your in AP Human Geography this would really help you in the beginning of the class.

[@feynstein1004]

Demography sounds really interesting. I wish there were a Crash Course on it.

[@rafaelandresantunez]

Thank you oh wise man. For contributing to my critical awareness. I can try to see the things around me more wisely.

[@adwodon]

A gross oversimplification of the problems we face, but how else can you explain it to people without spending decades understanding these things? I have no clue how to fix the problems presented here and I suspect the solutions presented will be challenging to implement even if they work. I hope more individuals like Prof. Cohen can get the ear of those in power and help guide us into the future with a more careful hand, as regardless of my doubts, I still trust him more than a politician.

[@luisdanielmesa]

Agreed! And more to your advantage: Mexico city was built on top of a lake which was filled with dirt, which makes it "gooey" when it comes to earthquakes. This "compacted mud" becomes very liquid when you shake it. This mud also amplifies the shock waves, which is actually worse.

[@burpwind]

This is a very well produce presentation. Thank you Big Think.

[@ShallowBeThyGames]

Great video. Thoroughly agree with the "TED shaped void" comment. I agree that many of the world's problem can only be addressed by a multi-faceted approach, but I still think Education will always be the most valuable.

[@wickerspin1119]

Imagine if the same material were covered by the history channel. So much more dramatic music and footage of explosions, as well as a bigger focus on how bad it can get rather than the solutions and the responisibility it takes to seek after them.

[@ThePsychoticOtter]

Wow this really made me think... Thanks bigthink for expanding the minds of all your subscribers :D

[@Manoaureal]

helped me a lot at my essays.

[@meryemseni4745]

really thank u ^^" i'll be waiting for it, thank u again

[@llorenjeffreyjames3493]

shawawt kong maria, Joshua , nic ug trishiaa. pasabta gud daw ko ani :

[@Iszakvagyok]

Just as an advice: I'd be really happy to see a video like this about cognitive science, maybe with Daniel Dannett from Tufts University. That would be awesome.

[@ProtonovaR54]

That statement around the 30 min mark, easily the best part of the video.

[@theSpicyHam]

Watched this lecture 2 times. Yay!

[@TravisJarratt]

A very interesting video. I like how he doesn't focus on just one issue but claims they are all important. He places the responsibility in the hands of all rather than in the few. Education is a key, not the only key.

[@TheyCallMeNewb]

I found this positively fascinating, though demography is not, nor do I imagine that it ever would be my field. Inspired!

[@lifecloud2]

Thank you for a really interesting lecture. I couldn't help but compare the statistics that were available in 2012, regarding population and birth rate, with where we are now with so many people dying of this horrible virus. I saw the other day that a woman in India gave birth to nine babies (which is quite rare). It made me wonder about replacement theory, which works with animal populations too. I wonder if this sort of thing is related to that.

[@DaileyVengeance]

This is great! I love this channel!