Why our brains are bad at understanding big numbers | BBC Global

[@chrisdvsmith999]

It's not that people are bad with big numbers, its that people are bad with numbers (and charts) full stop.

[@jaymayhoi]

one trick is to ignore the 1000 at the very left and think it's just 0, since its so small and is probably a red herring to the mind. Then realise 1Million is 1000th of the largest and think okay, i need to divide this line into 1000 pieces. Then it's more obvious it's at the very left

[@Atombre4ker]

yeah, exactly. For me that was quite obvious. I am shocked by the fact that so many people gave these unrealistic estimations.

[@taylorpledger2]

This really interesting thanks

[@paullangford8179]

Take your shoes off: there you go, you can (most likely) count to 20. That's the limit.

[@targetdreamer257]

Forgot nose, ears, and men can get one extra.

[@no127]

1 million secs= 11.574 days 1 billion secs= 31.71 years 1 trillion secs= 31709.792 years Best way to comprehend the difference between large numbers👆🏻

[@NataliaBazj]

If you divide 20 million dollars by 10 million people, each person gets 2 millions. 20 : 10 = 2. It's not immediately obvious where the mistake is. The problem is with the units - here we first talk about "millions of people" and then about "persons." Large numbers never have a simple representation, they are usually a multidimensional structure: "such and such a number multiplied by such a number so many times". For multidimensional structures, there are no simple comparisons: "More or less? In which direction of multidimensional space?" The question that immediately arises in my mind when they ask to show a million on a line is "is this a linear graph or a logarithmic one?" It depends...

[@FalloutJack]

I mean, our brains are bad at big numbers because there are people who are trained to focus on them specifically. These are mathematicians, accountants, and the like. They are the ones who discovered and wrangled with the big numbers, because nobody else in their daily lives generally uses them, and can exist on regular levels of math. Remember, math is a logical construct that we designed from scratch in order to make a measurable sense of the universe. We weren't born with it. Our instincts are not precise instruments. Everyone has to learn how to count from *nothing,* basically, whereas by the time it become relevent, we have been talking (language and word use) and moving (practical physical education) for much longer by necessity. It's a prioritization of skills. Large numbers drop off the brains of those who don't need them, but those whose jobs it is to focus on them will retain them in exclusion to other things, due to their laser focus on those skills.

[@kristine8338]

You take 1000000000 and divide it by 2 over and over again until it narrows down to 1000000.

[@taylorpledger2]

Yes! I did 1/10. it’s cool how we all do math differently, but,can relay and relate numbers. I like the part about processing large and small numbers two different parts of the mind. depending on the size. fascinating! it’s a perception thing

[@grahampalmer9337]

Billion down to Million? But which country are you doing this in?

[@AM2K2]

Wouldn't the half way mark be 500 million?

[@orlandoedelriocantillo9404]

Not my brain 🧠

[@grahampalmer9337]

The size of a really big number depends on which country you are discussing them in. An American 'Billion' is three zeros less than a UK 'Billion' - & those zero's equate to a huge amount!

[@riaz8783]

That has not been the case for about 50 years. The UK billion and US billion both mean one thousand million.

[@peter_meyer]

@@riaz8783 Ok, take UK and Germany then.

[@SFKathy2250]

This reminds me of the time I drove to Seattle in 1995 with a AAA map from the 1970s. There was no Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Seattle then, and I got lost over and over until I looked at the date on the map. I was not a very bright child.