Everyone Who Ever Lived

Your neighborhood has 18 houses in it, with 9 on each side of the road. All of the people who have ever lived are in this neighborhood, divided evenly into the homes.

The houses are built with the amenities of the era they represent.

Era, you say?

Yes indeed, the concept of time is crucial. Each house holds the same number of people alive today, around 8.1 billion. I’ve used the neighborhood analogy once before—to talk about nations and the nature of privilege, and “winning the uterine lottery.”

This time, we’re in a magical neighborhood that transcends time.

As you walk down your side of the street, you feel a chill down your spine. This isn’t just a journey down a road—it’s a trip back through time.

Every houses represent progressively longer spans of history needed to accumulate that number of people. Each house is a portal to the past, reflecting the lives and innovations of the era it represents.

Our current era, the 21st century, occupies the most recent house on the block—a place…