Accuracy = Zero (probably).
For all anyone really knows, it happened days ago.

But it’s a nice whole number for a headline I suppose.

And it satisfies the human love/obsession with measuring and counting every little flipping thing.

It’s apparently surprisingly accurate – people have been keeping accurate birth/death/marriage records for centuries.

The error either way is about 56 million so it’s (as usual) the press being utterly stupid in failing to understand statistics. The 7 billionth person may have been born last week or be born next week but when you’re talking about 7 billion, being out by 56 million isn’t that big a deal.

Sort of related, that commonly spouted “statistic” of there being more people alive now than have ever died is also bollox. Got to love it when the papers try to do science… 🙄

Have they?

😀

At the end of the day we are intelligent bugs.

If our planet imploded no one in the Universe would miss us.

7 millionth born today, how do they know?

Cos Chuck Norris told ’em, after he delivered it, that’s how!

Well he’d have to do another week’s work again I’m sure, so considering he’s had the last few hundred million years off I expect he would be a bit miffed to suddenly have to get off his arse for a week!

What about all the births in areas where there are no records? In areas that were covered in the Human Planet programmes.