Is That a Big Number?

Impressive statistics are thrown at us every day - the cost of health care; the size of an earthquake; the distance to the nearest star; the number of giraffes in the world. We know all these numbers are important - some more than others - and it's vaguely unsettling when we don't really have a clear sense of how remarkable or how ordinary they are. How do we work out what these figures actually mean? Are they significant, should we be worried, or excited, or impressed? How big is big, how small is small? With this entertaining and engaging book, help is at hand. Andrew Elliott gives us the tips and tools to make sense of numbers, to get a sense of proportion, to decipher what matters. It is a celebration of a numerate way of understanding the world. It shows how number skills help us to understand the everyday world close at hand, and how the same skills can be stretched to demystify the bigger numbers that we find in the wider contexts of science, politics, and the universe. Entertaining, full of practical examples, and memorable concepts, Is That A Big Number? renews our relationship with figures. 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. COVER......Page 1 IS THAT A BIG NUMBER?......Page 4 COPYRIGHT......Page 5 BEWILDERED BY BIG NUMBERS?......Page 6 DEDICATION......Page 8 CONTENTS......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 The world is chaotic......Page 13 Numbers count......Page 14 Developing number sense......Page 15 Everything connects......Page 16 For your numerical delight......Page 17 Random alignments......Page 18 The First Technique: Landmark Numbers—When You’re Lost, Look for Landmarks......Page 19 PART 1 COUNTING NUMBERS......Page 22 Counting up......Page 24 What does it mean to count?......Page 25 Counting (like) crows......Page 26 Counting is singing......Page 28 Feynman can count and read; Tukey can count and talk......Page 29 Singing is counting......Page 31 Keeping tallies......Page 32 How big is Yankee Stadium?......Page 33 How many fish in the sea?......Page 36 How many stars in the sky?......Page 37 How big is a billion?......Page 38 The age-old question: How strong is the beer?......Page 41 It’s not mathematics......Page 42 Folk numeracy versus scientific numeracy......Page 43 We’re innumerate, but literate......Page 44 Why do words matter?......Page 47 Words embracing numbers......Page 48 Scientific notation......Page 49 Where do the big numbers start?......Page 50 Firm ground......Page 51 Exposure to big numbers......Page 52 Visualising a thousand......Page 53 Powers of a thousand in language......Page 54 All roads lead to a thousand......Page 55 Precision......Page 56 How big is a billion?......Page 57 How many tennis balls does it take to fill St Paul’s?......Page 59 PART 2 MEASURING UP......Page 62 What it means to measure......Page 64 The Long and the Short and the Tall......Page 67 Made to measure......Page 68 Out and about......Page 70 Metre for measure......Page 71 Measuring the things around us......Page 72 Sports: heights......Page 73 Sports: distances......Page 74 How big is a football field?......Page 75 How far can you throw that thing?......Page 77 Sports: equipment......Page 78 Buildings and other structures......Page 79 Routes and roads......Page 81 Crossing continents......Page 82 Rivers......Page 84 The Lego world......Page 85 How far is 1000 km?......Page 86 How high is 100 metres?......Page 88 The Third Technique: Divide and Conquer—Take One Bite at a Time......Page 90 Distributing the load......Page 92 Pick your units and your multiples......Page 93 The wheels of time......Page 94 Time is change......Page 95 Giving the time of day......Page 96 It’s that time of year......Page 99 Some things just won’t fit......Page 100 Turning years into numbers......Page 102 Measuring prehistory......Page 103 Time and technology......Page 104 The far future......Page 105 What happened a thousand years ago? A number ladder for time......Page 106 Geological time by the numbers......Page 108 The evolution of Homo sapiens......Page 112 The big migration......Page 115 Technological landmarks......Page 116 Ancient history by the numbers......Page 117 5000 years and more ago (3000 bce and before)......Page 118 4000–3000 years ago (2000 bce to 1000 bce)......Page 119 3000–2500 years ago (1000 bce to 500 bce)......Page 121 2500–2000 years ago (500 bce to 1 bce)......Page 122 2000–1500 years ago (1 ce to 500 ce)......Page 124 1500–1000 years ago (500 ce to 1000 ce)......Page 126 Them!......Page 128 Covering the ground......Page 129 Speaking (of) volumes......Page 130 No need to fear the giant ants......Page 131 String theory......Page 132 Tell her to find me an acre of land......Page 133 Making land metric......Page 134 City sizes......Page 135 How big is a country, typically?......Page 136 Measuring continents and large islands......Page 138 Roll out the barrel......Page 140 Oil, by the barrel or by the tankerful......Page 141 Dry goods......Page 142 It’s a hard rain a-gonna fall......Page 143 The Fourth Technique: Rates and Ratios—Knock ’Em Down to Size......Page 146 Per capita......Page 147 Growth rates......Page 148 The weight(s) of history......Page 150 From grain to gram......Page 152 He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother......Page 153 Everyday masses......Page 154 How heavy was King Kong?......Page 155 Other creatures, great and small......Page 157 Sink or swim?......Page 158 In good spirits......Page 159 Why did Archimedes leave his bath?......Page 161 1000 kg to 1 million kg (1 ton to 1000 tons)......Page 162 More than 1 million kg (more than 1000 tons)......Page 163 Blue Riband......Page 166 Measuring speed......Page 167 Going like the wind......Page 168 Speed limits......Page 170 Blue Birds, Bluebirds, and Bloodhounds......Page 171 Terminal velocity......Page 172 Faster and faster......Page 173 Warp speed and beyond......Page 175 INTERMISSION TIME TO REVIEW AND REFLECT......Page 178 Number spotting......Page 180 Benford’s law put to the test......Page 181 Distribution of magnitude between 1 and 1000......Page 183 Stand up and stretch your legs......Page 185 Breaking the number line......Page 187 Moore’s law......Page 189 the richter scale......Page 191 Ebony and ivory......Page 193 Log books and slide rules......Page 196 Mortality......Page 198 A much, much briefer history of time......Page 200 PART 3 THE NUMBERS OF SCIENCE......Page 202 Numbers for the sake of knowledge......Page 204 How high the Moon?......Page 206 Neighbourhood watch......Page 208 Light-years......Page 212 Interstellar......Page 213 Orders of magnitude......Page 214 News from deep space......Page 215 The size of everything (well, everything we can see)......Page 216 How far is a billion kilometres?......Page 217 How do you weigh a planet?......Page 220 Masses of the planets and Sun......Page 221 The dance of the Earth and the Moon......Page 222 Astronomical densities......Page 223 Confused and confusing......Page 225 Early measurement of energy......Page 226 How big is a joule?......Page 227 Energy in foods......Page 228 Energy in fuels......Page 229 What’s your energy consumption?......Page 230 Temperature......Page 231 Big and small bangs......Page 234 Energy number ladder......Page 235 Rosetta......Page 237 Information......Page 239 Measuring information......Page 240 Numbers and computer memory......Page 243 Making every word count......Page 245 Codes and redundancy......Page 246 Encoding the Bible......Page 247 Is a picture worth a thousand words?......Page 248 Big data centres......Page 249 Mathematically big numbers......Page 251 Combinatorics......Page 252 How hard is that problem?......Page 253 Who’d be a travelling salesman?......Page 255 What is a number anyway?......Page 258 What about Graham’s number?......Page 259 What about infinity?......Page 260 PART 4 NUMBERS IN PUBLIC LIFE......Page 262 The bones of the world......Page 264 Global numbers......Page 266 Tallysticks and stockholders......Page 268 What’s that in Old Money?......Page 269 Currencies: money’s wobbly yardsticks......Page 272 Interest and inflation......Page 273 Remember when a dollar was still a dollar?......Page 274 Measuring economies......Page 277 The Bluffer’s Guide to National Finances......Page 280 How much do we earn?......Page 281 How much does the government take in tax?......Page 282 What’s the balance?......Page 283 How much does that cost us?......Page 284 Another look at GDP......Page 285 Yet another look at GDP......Page 286 Example: research spending......Page 287 Stand on Zanzibar: How crowded is the world?......Page 288 The rise and rise of Homo sapiens......Page 291 Human life expectancy......Page 293 Child mortality......Page 295 We’re not the only occupants of this planet......Page 296 Populations of species......Page 297 A (descending) number ladder of animal populations......Page 298 We’re the ones in charge here......Page 299 Measuring variation and inequality......Page 303 Is that a big country?......Page 307 Measuring inequality—the Gini index......Page 309 Quality of life: Millennium Development Goals......Page 310 Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger......Page 311 Goal 4: Reduce child mortality......Page 312 Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases......Page 313 Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability......Page 314 Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development......Page 315 How does the overall achievement measure up?......Page 316 Quality of life: Human Development Index......Page 317 Quality of life: Happiness Index......Page 318 Numbers are natural......Page 321 Haven’t the number-crunching experts let us down?......Page 322 But the experts can’t even make up their minds!......Page 323 Knowledge is power......Page 324 Life is chaotic. But life is good......Page 325 Worthwhile web links......Page 328 Numbers in the World......Page 329 References......Page 330 Massive Numbers......Page 331 Worthwhile web links......Page 332 Worthwhile web links......Page 333 Worthwhile web links......Page 334 Worthwhile web links......Page 335 Measuring How We Live......Page 336 Worthwhile sources of numbers......Page 337 Acknowledgements......Page 338 Index......Page 339 Impressive numbers are thrown at us by the news every day. They are meant to help us understand, to compare, to evaluate, but in practice they often befuddle rather than enlighten. This entertaining, practical book gives us the tools and tips to decipher the figures, and to enjoy the way numbers enable us to understand our world