This map shows every cargo ship on the planet in 2012

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Very cool link.

There isn't much coordination between ships fwiw.

I'm going to steal this from reddit. It's a bit lengthy, but a good read:

LINK

quote:

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This might just be the greatest single representation of what modern civilization has achieved. Not the Moon landing, not the Manhattan Project, not the UN. But this simple demonstration.

Look at that coordination. Look at those numbers. All those goods. All those people. All those ships. All those ports. All those nations. All that trading and cooperation. The ability to move ungodly amounts of freight across thousands of miles of Ocean in days without even blinking an eye. Doing in a few hours what our ancient, and not-so-ancient, ancestors couldn't accomplish in ten thousand years. A level of greatness so incredible our predecessors would be floored at what we have achieved as a species. We have surpassed even the achievements of many of the so-called Gods our forefathers once worshipped.

Our civilization has evolved into such a tremendously huge and complicated system that we have relegated each individual human into what would be the equivalent of an ant. And, much like an ant, no single human has any clue what they are doing, why they are doing it, or how their actions contribute to the greater whole. Not the workers, not the students, not the officials, not even the President. All just microscopic pieces of a 100,000 year old puzzle that is so complex it boggles the imagination. A puzzle that only gets larger, greater, and even more complex by the hour. In fact it's pace is accelerating as our technology improves at an overgrowing pace.

Modern society exists on a level truly beyond human comprehension. We can put the numbers on paper. We can pretend we understand the gravity of the situation we are talking about. But we don't truly understand. We can't fit even a small fraction of all the complexities in our heads.

And that's just the shipping. Imagine all the others webs that lie on top of this one. Cities. Roads and highways. Trucking. Electricity lines. Plumbing. Infrastructure. Air-travel. Internet and elecronic communications lines. Satellites. Manufacturing and processing plants. Etc...

Complexity stacked on complexity stacked on complexity. The culmination of thousands of years of hard work and determination by hundreds of generations of humans. Giants, standing on giants, standing on giants till we stood so tall we could reach out and literally touch the heavens. Civilization is a piece of art every human has contributed to. A piece of art so beautiful it would bring every man, woman, and child to tears if they could truly grasp just a fraction of a single percent of it. But, alas, even that it far to great for any human to possibly understand.

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That's a good post and makes an even more important point that most people miss.....this all happened with no plan. It's spontaneous complexity as a result of billions of people just doing what people do....trying to stay alive and thrive.

Top down planning just slows down prosperity and progress.

Watch this

Depending on the cargo and country of origin, working security can be a kick in the arse for contractors.

This was posted under it. This is so reddit.com I couldn't make it any more reddit like

quote:

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MrJMaxted0291 • 7h
As much as I appreciate positive outlooks I think casually dismissing the negative realities of the world as nonsense isn't just a farcical perspective, but a dangerous one that fosters inaction. It is just as wrong for people to overlook the injustices of the world as it is for overly negative people to dismiss the jaw dropping beauty of it all.

Take this informative display of the world's shipping networks for example. The sheer scale and organization of the world's freight is very impressive, but never forget that it's just as representative of the mindless over consumption and greed of humans as it is a marvel of our progress as a species. Take a close look at the little dots inching their way over the ocean. The containers of manufactured goods, crude oil, natural resources and fossil fuels that are hauled around the world are breathtaking in scale, but who does this gargantuan system serve? Where do the majority of the goods and resources flow? Is the flow of goods equitable for all people or does it serve the interests of a small minority of the population at the expense of the many? Why are the overwhelming majority of goods and resources flowing into Europe and America? For that matter, what of the planet itself? The presentation itself outlines that an absurd amount of climate changing fossil fuel is required to keep the wheels turning, more than the domestic needs of most countries. As amazing as this system is, is it sustainable? What happens to the many millions of tons of disposable goods that are being shown transported around the world in this presentation? Is it right for us to ignore the answers to these questions if they make us feel uncomfortable or upset?

The scale of this industry is every bit as horrifying as it is amazing to behold for many perfectly sane reasons. I don't think it's right to avert our eyes from the injustices this system represents simply because it gives us bad vibes. We have a societal responsibility to acknowledge the bad with the good and ask the difficult questions so that we can enable constructive dialogue

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I remember when I first heard Milton Friedman talk about "I, Pencil". It's still probably the best lesson in economics I've ever heard.

Also...

In before proof of flat earth

Jebus Christ people are fricktards.

The handful of times I got to fly in a helicopter from an offshore rig, it was impressive to see the amount of ships just hanging out near the mouth of the river waiting to make their wayou upstream.

I keep reading the title as cargo shorts.

Now that's a map the OT could use.