The original series episodes are about 48 minutes long. By the time TNG came along a new standard of about 42 minutes had emerged. However it seems to have stabilised at that level.

The core issue for American politicians is raising money for the next election. Compared with that, other motivations are secondary. To the extent that this book ignores this issue, it's rather silly...

Your confusing two separate things, which, whilst often related, are not necessarily so. Economic growth is a result of the better use of factors of production, achieving output that is of greater value with the same population. China's economic growth at more than 8% a year over the past 20 years or so has had little to do with its population growth, but everything to do with building factories and using more resources. Whilst there is a suggestion that a stable population, especially an older population, will be more resistant to change than one where there is a flow of new entrants to the work force, it is not inevitable.

The interesting other issue that you raise - that profits now constitute a larger component of the GDP of developed countries than used to be the case - IS something we should be concerned about; it reflects a failure of competition to ensure that such profits are competed away, as different suppliers of the similar product offer lower prices...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... suggests that the USA, like most developed countries, is well below replacement. Of course the US population is continuing to rise because immigration is pumping in, and the echo of the post war baby boom means there's a disproportionate number of women of child bearing age in the population. But overall, the long term trend is stable to negative.

People will still want to pass on their knowledge. Parents will have the responsibility of doing so - using computer aided approaches no doubt. If Sesame Street can achieve it without trying too hard... http://www.theatlantic.com/edu...

All that you need is a few people with an interest in providing some limited input. Most of the effort will be fully automated, with intelligent machine spotting holes and repairing them properly. The supplies to do so will come from automated quarries and factories. R&D will be done by people interested in it etc etc.

The main solution to that problem will be design - to ensure that that sort of problem is fairly rare. Beyond that - the geeks of the world - especially teenagers - will take great pleasure in resolving those low level problems, applying the knowledge that we've gained from the manual etc. Remember that kids learn to use technical things by osmosis; as long as they are well designed, this will happen. Beyond that, there will be adults who take pleasure in sorting things out - and society will reward them with recognition. Add in a few megalomaniacs who enjoy the power...

"People with free food would become rabbits and reproduce and take over the whole world"

I agree with most of what you say, but the fact is that people stop reproducing once they get wealthy. The birth rate of almost all the developing countries has fallen - most obviously in South Korea where it's gone from over 6 to under 2 in under 50 years. That doesn't mean we don't have a problem in the short term, but in the medium term - 150 years or so from now - our population will be in free fall.

They are supported by their savings - and the state. That many of them could still contribute but don't need to and don't feel the need to is an indicator that it's possible and doable for many.

If the police knew the community, they could have asked about the kid and found out the background. Unfortunately that sort of intelligence - in both senses - is lacking in police forces these days, so they just charge in and make idiots of themselves. Actually the judge that granted the warrant should be shouted at as well - he should have asked those questions...

After all they made you the offer...

If it was a lawyer, you might want to report them to the relevant regulatory agency - or even tell him to sue them; he might as well get something out of the mess. But you did good to warn off the 20 yo...