The Malaria Altas Project has been putting numbers to the results of efforts to bring malaria under control in Africa. They write “We found that
Plasmodium falciparum
infection prevalence in endemic Africa halved and the incidence of clinical disease fell by 40% between 2000 and 2015. We estimate that interventions have averted 663 million clinical cases since 2000.”
Read more, and have a play with their interactive maps.
The Greek Theatre in the Sicilian town of Taormina could, so they say, accommodate 5000 theatre-goers. Could this be true? Let’s do some rough and ready calculations …
http://www.andrewcaelliott.com/explorations/2016/11/13/a-trip-to-the-theatre
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
This is what 1 in a thousand looks like in Lego terms… Is “a thousand” a big number?
We say yes: and more than that, we reckon that “in the region of a thousand” is more or less where the big numbers start, that is, numbers that we have trouble visualising. Somewhere around 1000, we need to shift gears mentally and use new strategies for these bigger numbers.
Interestingly, there is linguistic and cultural support for this idea, too.
Blog article coming soon
https://itabn.tumblr.com/post/144476435912/one-in-a-thousand
How many tennis balls does it take to fill St Paul’s?