It s hard to imagine just how bad it can be. Try, though, to imagine this scenario

And yet for decades we thought that the people who were managing those firms were much smarter than we were.

We usually reckon that it is easier for young, unformed minds to handle changes like these.

Queerer than we can suppose comes from J.B.S. Haldane, the famous biologist, who said, Now, my own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.

China is much more than just a nation state, Buruma concludes. Taiwanese scholar Lee Hsiao feng has recently argued that the concept Chinese is a meaningless word that was fabricated to justify rule over minorities.

My title Queerer than we can suppose The strangeness of science.

China is often thought to be governed by the Han majority.

Imagining Recession

But it is a mistake to think that China s manufacturing will remain in the doldrums.

People who have engaged in sexual activity with potentially infected individuals may be offered one of several tests to diagnose the condition.

As one can imagine, the results of this System I coup d etat are not pretty.

Or so we thought.

In doing so, we think that we are upholding our values.

But it is wrong to think that massive accumulation of debt is a free lunch.

No parents could want this future for their children.

At first glance, Russia bears many of the hallmarks of a great power.

It is a fantasy to believe that peace can be concluded without the radicals participation.

So the idea that what the world needs now is more fixed rules will not do.

It is a strain to think that governments have the same motivations as private citizens.

This will prove more difficult than it first sounds.

We thought that Europe believed in sharing its burdens equitably.

Being alive, we tend to think that life is easy to grasp.

Better to cut and run than stay and die, and who is to say that the result will embolden Taliban terrorists?

It is a mistake, however, to believe that extended deterrence depends on parity in numbers of nuclear weapons.

Those who refuse could remain in Israel as permanent residents.

So you would think the same would be true for US households and embattled European governments.

How can you have a viable state carved up by fences, military roads, and barbed wire?

But this difference may have less impact than meets the eye.

More fundamentally, no one should think that North Korea s totalitarian communist system can be changed overnight.

Yet it would be a mistake to think that this bloodlust represents widespread sentiment among Iraqis.

However, as long as Tibet remains part of China, it is hard to see how its distinct cultural identity can survive.

We can invite partners who can support us, but we have to start.

Services There is a significant difference between the number of those who would benefit from treatment and the number of those who are treated.

Mind you, the idea that the ultra rich could easily solve poverty is stupefyingly naïve.

With this engine of growth turned off, it is hard to see how the American economy will not suffer from a slowdown.

It is not farfetched to imagine that Gbagbo hopes to convert his loss at the polls into a similar pact with Ouattara.

In fact, the target is not scientifically backed, and the suggestion that we could achieve it is entirely implausible.

It may stretch credulity to think that a high growth economy like China might soon be facing similar problems.

If COP 21 fails, it is hard to see how the U.N. process can limp on.

Many pundits would have one believe that Ireland would have pulled through unscathed absent Germany s blundering statements.

It used to be commonly thought that a home s value consists primarily in the structure, not in the land on which it sits.

So make no mistake about it. Nicolas Sarkozy has not been elected to adapt France to an elusive globalization.

Second, it would seem highly risky to conclude that one speech by Chávez is tantamount to a fundamental affirmation of principle.

(We can imagine a wish list revenue opportunity here, where vendors can offer specific motivational products or services.)

Indeed, it would be naïve to believe that the crisis is the only reason that public finances are in bad shape.