• jalkasieni@sopuli.xyz
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    49
    ·
    8 days ago

    Virtually everyone fails to grasp exactly how large of a number a billion is. It’s so, so much bigger than the ”very big number” people think of when they hear the word.

    • beebarfbadger@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      16
      ·
      8 days ago

      A million seconds is a little over 11 days.

      A billion seconds is a little over 31 years.

      Billionaires should be required to count out their dollars individually every few days.

    • skittle07crusher@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      8 days ago

      I wonder if world class mathematicians have a much better grasp of it — and yet fail to use their expertise to point out the absurdity of the current wealth inequality

      Or do even they, world class mathematicians, not really ‘grasp’ it in this wildly important and urgent sense.