Grace Hopper is one hell of a woman.  She joined the Navy at age 37, having been moved to work together along side her fellow citizens to fight in WW2.  She was a Rear Admiral and a Harvard graduate.  During her stint she served as the Director for the Navy Programming Language Standards Group, Director for the Navy Programming Language Group, and the Head of the Programming Languages Section.  As evidence of a simpler time, when confronted with the idea of a billionth of a second, Rear Admiral Hopper was confused and phoned her colleges to bring her a billionth of a second.

“What I wanted was a piece of wire which would represent the maximum distance that electricity could travel in a billionth of a second”.  A nano-second (a billionth of second) is 11.8 inches in length.

Seeing as to how we have a fantastic new market dynamic, one focused on speed above all else, the video (which was brought to my attention via a friend, @BadAlgo) below ought to help put things into perspective regarding the speed required to send information and the handicap it places on those who are unable to improve their geographic position.

Perhaps we ought to look at market access like wealth access, those who fall short are subsidized by the winners (welfare).  How about welfare for the retail guys?  With any luck, the Government will see this idea as useless and maybe we can finally end the welfare program or they’ll see how serious those guys need the help and perhaps the retail investor will have a little help in competing….until the next debt ceiling vote at least.

 

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