All that glitters

by Brandon Mayer

“Asteroid that could make everyone on Earth a billionaire confirmed to be exploded this year.” Sometimes, reading something stupid online makes one want to simply mentally extinguish it and move on. Other times, the stupidity is so intense that it warrants picking apart.

The post above was one I came across on a social media page of very little consequence. “Clickbait”, as they call it – something eye-catching and outrageous enough to encourage clicking on a worthless article that seems like hardhitting journalism, so that online advertising revenue can be sucked out of the world’s most daft beings.

While I stand by the assertion that the post I saw was intended as “clickbait”, the real problem is that reputable news sources have picked it up. What exactly is the story here? An asteroid called “16 Psyche” has been identified in the area between Mars and Jupiter. It is believed to be the “metallic heart of a dead planet” containing so much iron, nickel, and gold that in Earth value today, it would be worth somewhere in the ballpark of00,000,000,000,000,000. (No, that is not a made up exaggeration, it is the actual calculated number).

As it turns out, this would theoretically be enough money to make everyone on Earth a billionaire. The keyword is “theoretically”, as in – solely as a math problem. My concern is that reputable news sources seem to be missing the “theoretically” part. NASA is reportedly going to be exploring the asteroid, and news sources are suggesting that we are all going to be rich. The Economic Times, a division of the India Times, has a headline reading “NASA mission 'Psyche' can make everyone a billionaire”. A headline from NDTV reads “This rare asteroid may make everyone a billionaire on this Earth”. The first line of an article on iHeart. com – a popular radio and news website – reads “NASA has announced a mission that could make every single person on Earth a billionaire.”