From Comets and Spaceships to Annuities
Until recently I only knew Edmond Halley as an astronomer and I still remember our school activity when his famous comet appeared in 1986. Back then, a schoolboy in France, I drew a picture of Halley’s Comet and imagined the world as it will be when the comet returns, that is in 2061. I have no recollection of what I thought the world would look like in 2061. I probably thought of a world with spaceships travelling to Mars and aliens living alongside humans. I am lucky enough to be one of those few people who will probably see the comet twice, provided my survival curve keeps up its rectangularisation. Halley himself didn’t have this opportunity, as he died before the comet returned. That was all I knew about Edmond Halley, until I read his revolutionary article on annuities. You can call me a nerd, but I was quite excited when I found free access to the 1693 article on the Royal Society’s website. It was like discovering the Dead Sea scrolls. I was reading arguably the oldest scientif...