IsThatABigNumber.com is about extending our number sense. We make comparisons that are (mostly) down-to-earth: populations of people and animals, national budgets, river lengths and so on.
But when we leave behind everyday experience and look at the kind of numbers you find in astronomy and in combinatorics, we come across vastly bigger numbers.
One strategy to grasp these numbers is to break them down into a series of levels, to see them as stupidly big aggregations of things that are themselves stupidly big aggregations of … Here are some good clips illustrating this:
Not all advances in technology stem from well-planned development projects. Sometimes accidents turn out to be fortuitous. In 2003 Jamie Link shattered a silicon chip, and discovered the fragments were still transmitting signals. “Smart Dust” was the result: microelectomechanical devices with a host of applications. It’s not the only invention to be the result of chance. Read more here:
https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4852/science-and-serendipity-famous-accidental-discoveries
If you’re looking for numbers on Covid-19, a very good choice is to head over to OurWorldInData.com. Good numbers, good analysis, good visualisations and good interactive tools for exploring the numbers.
Oh, and they cover MUCH more than just Covid-19. Highly recommended.
