Think about all the grains of sand in all the deserts and beaches on the planet. That’s a ridiculously big number—seven and a half quintillion (7.5 x 1018), at least according to one estimate. As many grains of sand as there are, there are far more stars out there in the observable universe. This kind of weird comparison can be useful when you need to understand something like
Nice topic! I read about an article comparing the number of cells in the human body to the number of people on Earth. There are estimated to be around 32 trillion cells in the average human body, while the world population is around 8 billion. It's fascinating to think that each of us is a universe unto ourselves, composed of far more cells than there are humans on the entire planet.
In my opinion the numbering issue is a distraction with no resolution. I like to think beyond the big or small and ponder creation as a whole … now That’s a kick!
Thinking about the numbers also breaks my brain. So many possibilities here. I'm thinking aloud. Does the total amount of cells of humans today outnumber the quantity of stars in the universe?
Not beyond knowing about sand grains, stars in the universe, and the internet was about 64 zettabytes in 2020 and 125 zettabytes in 2025 (maybe more now since LLM will create a lot of content).
I have also heard of something called Googolplex. I do not know of any number bigger than that with a name. As per Wiki, a googolplex is the large number 10^googol, or equivalently, 10^10^100 or 10^10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Nice topic! I read about an article comparing the number of cells in the human body to the number of people on Earth. There are estimated to be around 32 trillion cells in the average human body, while the world population is around 8 billion. It's fascinating to think that each of us is a universe unto ourselves, composed of far more cells than there are humans on the entire planet.
Good comparison. I've been thinking about just making a list of weird comparisons like that!
I love the idea!
How about working your magic on the national debt. That might be most useful.
In my opinion the numbering issue is a distraction with no resolution. I like to think beyond the big or small and ponder creation as a whole … now That’s a kick!
Thanks?
The idea of a million million million hurts my head. Even moreso than million³.
Here, let me help: each million is just a thousand thousands.
Piece of cake!
Stars in the sky and ants ..
My brain is tired now!! LOL
Thinking about the numbers also breaks my brain. So many possibilities here. I'm thinking aloud. Does the total amount of cells of humans today outnumber the quantity of stars in the universe?
That's a really good one! It's actually very close if you add up all the humans together.
Not beyond knowing about sand grains, stars in the universe, and the internet was about 64 zettabytes in 2020 and 125 zettabytes in 2025 (maybe more now since LLM will create a lot of content).
I have also heard of something called Googolplex. I do not know of any number bigger than that with a name. As per Wiki, a googolplex is the large number 10^googol, or equivalently, 10^10^100 or 10^10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Check out Graham's number that Eli just pointed out, too!
Googolplex was our go-to way of ending arguments about quantities of things as kids. 😁
And I agree with Daniel Kahneman on the below as it just becomes a huge or a tiny number:
“Human beings cannot comprehend very large or very small numbers. It would be useful for us to acknowledge that fact.”
I love big numbers, especially Graham’s number. Graham’s number makes a googol look like a 4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham's_number?wprov=sfti1
Graham's number is like when Usain Bolt shows up to your elementary school kid's relay race.
Pfft just 80 zeros? That's not even a hundred, man. I can write 80 zeros in about 2 minutes.
But yeah, thinking in those terms can really break your brain.
How many zeroes could you write in a "1 followed by 80 zeroes" minutes?
*Daniel's brain officially collapses onto itself.*
This film kind of relates to this topic. I like it because it reminds me of how great and small we are as humans!
https://youtu.be/0fKBhvDjuy0?si=Wkg9Vi4afty_6JWf
The Powers of Ten ((1977)
Fantastic film, and a must-see.