Comments on: The Billions of Things I Didn’t Learn in School http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/archives/478 The Kingdom from another angle. Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:25:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Chris Lott » Blog Archive » Really Big Numbers… Really http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/archives/478/comment-page-1#comment-562 Chris Lott » Blog Archive » Really Big Numbers… Really Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:38:04 +0000 http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/?p=478#comment-562 [...] Jim’s recent blog entry prodded me into thinking about scale and numbers, concepts fundamental to understanding the world around us that many of us tend to use and repeat without really thinking about them. Between the war, the recession and the election cycle, the idea of billions and trillions of dollars are tossed around regularly. But what do those numbers mean? How can we bring those numbers home? [...] [...] Jim’s recent blog entry prodded me into thinking about scale and numbers, concepts fundamental to understanding the world around us that many of us tend to use and repeat without really thinking about them. Between the war, the recession and the election cycle, the idea of billions and trillions of dollars are tossed around regularly. But what do those numbers mean? How can we bring those numbers home? [...]

]]> By: Really Big Numbers… Really : Ruminate http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/archives/478/comment-page-1#comment-561 Really Big Numbers… Really : Ruminate Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:30:57 +0000 http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/?p=478#comment-561 [...] Jim’s recent blog entry prodded me into thinking about scale and numbers, concepts fundamental to understanding the world around us that many of us tend to use and repeat without really thinking about them. Between the war, the recession and the election cycle, the idea of billions and trillions of dollars are tossed around regularly. But what do those numbers mean? How can we bring those numbers home? [...] [...] Jim’s recent blog entry prodded me into thinking about scale and numbers, concepts fundamental to understanding the world around us that many of us tend to use and repeat without really thinking about them. Between the war, the recession and the election cycle, the idea of billions and trillions of dollars are tossed around regularly. But what do those numbers mean? How can we bring those numbers home? [...]

]]> By: Chris Lott http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/archives/478/comment-page-1#comment-558 Chris Lott Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:41:22 +0000 http://rudenoon.com/absalletc/?p=478#comment-558 Here's a good way to consider a trillion dollars: "It’s the year 0, the beginning of the first millennium, and you have a trillion dollars to spend, at the rate of a million dollars a day. At just before three years, you’ve reached a billion. You keep spending, and now you are in the year 2001. You still have 737 years to go, spending a million every day, before you reach the end of your trillion dollar pile." I really think the difference between a billion and a trillion is completely misunderstood by most... it's so hard to fathom! Here’s a good way to consider a trillion dollars:

“It’s the year 0, the beginning of the first millennium, and you have a trillion dollars to spend, at the rate of a million dollars a day. At just before three years, you’ve reached a billion. You keep spending, and now you are in the year 2001. You still have 737 years to go, spending a million every day, before you reach the end of your trillion dollar pile.”

I really think the difference between a billion and a trillion is completely misunderstood by most… it’s so hard to fathom!

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