Free-form entry eg: '125000km', '1.5 million inches', '$67bn', '45000000 AUD', 100years', '123456789', '1 trillion', '1.5e6', '25 million kg'
This video recreates the classic “Powers of Ten” film, zooming out to larger and larger scales to the limits of our understanding of the universe, and then zooming in again, down to the smallest things we know about.
It’s an excellent way of illustrating relative magnitudes of distance. One gripe: it all happens a bit too quickly: try watching it at half speed.
Is That a Big Number is now a book, published by Oxford University Press. (Google ISBN 0198821220 to find many online booksellers). Although there is serious purpose behind the book - to explore how we think about numbers and how we can understand big numbers - it’s written in a light and engaging style.
Entertaining, full of practical examples, and memorable concepts, Is That A Big Number? renews our relationship with numeracy. If numbers are the musical notes with which the symphony of the universe is written, and you’re struggling to hear the tune, then this is the book to get you humming again.
$267 billion in tariffs. Is That a Big Number?
Misplaced decimal point endangers lives
Violent Crime Rate in the USA: 50% down from peak 25 years ago
Making Sense of Air Pollution Statistics
2,043,599 Pennies is a big number but is it Art?
How old are Olympians? (for each sport)
GDP: a Predictor of Olympic Gold?
Guide to Spotting Dodgy Statistics
HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Meets in the Middle
200 Terabyte Mathematical Proof
From Atlas Obscura, a sampling of infographics from the 19th century. All with the aim in mind of putting information into a format where it can easily be understood and compared.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-stunning-early-infographics-and-maps-of-the-1800s
The book is now out! Published 12 July 2018, it's chock full of numbers and stories about numbers and ways to think about BIG numbers.
Click here to learn more about it.
Click here for Podcast: Andrew Elliott interviewed for New Books Network.