Two students’ lives were put at risk when they were accidentally given a dose of caffeine that was 100 times greater than it should have been. “… the calculation had been done on a mobile phone, the decimal point being put in the wrong place. ” Getting the numbers right can be a matter of life and death.
https://itabn.tumblr.com/post/157611208872/misplaced-decimal-point-endangers-lives
The 1954 horror/science fiction film
Them!
featured terrifying giant ants. Could such creatures really exist? Of would the square-cube law defeat them? Read on …
http://www.andrewcaelliott.com/explorations/2016/11/13/beware-the-giant-ants-or-not-
In 1982 Douglas Hofstadter wrote about Number Numbness. We’re still befuddled in the face of millions and billions, let alone trillions or even bigger numbers.
That’s the reason for IsThatABigNumber.com: to help anyone develop their number sense by putting big numbers in context and providing meaningful comparisons.
http://www.andrewcaelliott.com/explorations/2016/1/13/is-that-a-big-number
A little workout for the number sense. It’s never easy to have an intuitive sense of volumes, but here’s a little thought experiment to exercise your numeracy chops.
Answer: around 600 million. Check my workings!