How much is a billion?
- ztarwuff
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How much is a billion?
Given what the video says, I'm interested in what raocow thinks a billion is. I, despite being born ten years after the UK adopted the American way, was always under the impression that billion meant million million. I prefer it that way. The short system makes no sense to me.
Good thing I never had the need to use the word, billion.
- Snakebite969
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Re: How much is a billion?
1x10^9
Now let's see if the video says differently
Edit: ok, thats ridiculous, why would you do this numberphile, I once loved you
Now let's see if the video says differently
Edit: ok, thats ridiculous, why would you do this numberphile, I once loved you
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Re: How much is a billion?
I use the long scale billion. I agree that the short scale doesn't make sense.
Re: How much is a billion?
Huh, that's pretty interesting, and I get the logic behind the long system.
I'm comfortable with the short system though because a thousand is where it's treated as a unit where larger numbers up to 1 million are treated as multiples of 1000. Ideally, to complete the long system you would need a separate name for 100000 and 10000 just like there's a "thousand" instead of calling it "ten hundred".
I'm comfortable with the short system though because a thousand is where it's treated as a unit where larger numbers up to 1 million are treated as multiples of 1000. Ideally, to complete the long system you would need a separate name for 100000 and 10000 just like there's a "thousand" instead of calling it "ten hundred".
- Unaniem
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Re: How much is a billion?
Long system is used over here in Dutchland.
Imagine my shock back when I played MMO's as a stupid 13/14-year old and I read on a strategy website a boss has a billion HP.
EDIT: The people in this comment section are surprisingly pissed.
Imagine my shock back when I played MMO's as a stupid 13/14-year old and I read on a strategy website a boss has a billion HP.
EDIT: The people in this comment section are surprisingly pissed.
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Re: How much is a billion?
Who cares, it's just numbers
But seriously, this comment (WARNING: HUGE):
I found this interesting and I think everyone should not even care at all.
But seriously, this comment (WARNING: HUGE):
A normal guy, if you can believe it.
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Ads: Your ad, hight here, right now: $0 (click this! ucp.php?i=pm&mode=compose&u=96389)
- ztarwuff
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Re: How much is a billion?
I think the dispute with the short system is that the naming doesn't match. Tri is three, but trillion is a thousand to the power of four, not three. I've read the huge comment in the video's comment section, but that guy's just grasping at straws.ano0maly wrote:Huh, that's pretty interesting, and I get the logic behind the long system.
I'm comfortable with the short system though because a thousand is where it's treated as a unit where larger numbers up to 1 million are treated as multiples of 1000.
Doesn't matter in the end, so long as we're all using the same system. The only problem is, we're not all using the same system.
Yeah, but that's true for the short system too. The Chinese have a system that covers that, though..Ideally, to complete the long system you would need a separate name for 100000 and 10000 just like there's a "thousand" instead of calling it "ten hundred".
- Lunikyuu
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Re: How much is a billion?
I grew up with the short system (billion = 10^9), but I remember always wondering why a billion, trillion, quadrillion, etc. wasn't in powers of millions like the name suggested until I learned that was actually a thing in a different system (I think from that same video even). I think the long system makes more sense, but I think I'll still instictively use the short system since it's what I'm used to using and it's what everyone over here uses.
- Sorel
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How much is a billion?
In germany, we got "millionen" (1.000.000), "milliarden" (1.000.000.000), then "billionen" (1.000.000.000.000) and so on
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Re: How much is a billion?
I use the short system because everyone else here does and it's stupid to argue what the numbers mean when you could analyse the numbers instead. For example, when the government recently announced that it would cut back health & education spending by at least $60 billion, no-one was asking them whether they meant $60000000000000 or $60000000000 because everyone knows they meant the latter and it's no time to be pedantic about that.
Re: How much is a billion?
I use the short system. The way I always interpreted the naming was that a "million" was the first "-llion" after a thousand, a "billion" was second and so had "bi-", a "trillion" was third and got "tri-", etc. The long system honestly makes a bit more sense, but yeah, if I were to start using the long system all of a sudden most people would misunderstand me. And even if the short system's names are somehow technically "wrong", what does it matter? That happens all the time. September hasn't been the seventh month for a long time.
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Re: How much is a billion?
That's... weird. I'm just really surprised that I haven't heard about that ever before. I'm even more surprised that there haven't been a billion issues related to the different meanings of the word (oh how punny). Like for example, someone in America paying someone in Europe a billion dollars and then the European guy receiving a different amount than he was expecting. If that makes sense.
Now I'll never know what people are actually talking about when they say a billion!! My life is ruined, thanks a lot
Now I'll never know what people are actually talking about when they say a billion!! My life is ruined, thanks a lot
- Diggertron
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Re: How much is a billion?
Billion= Giga-
/thread.
/thread.
Skynet.That makes raocow a victim of proprietary software.
Re: How much is a billion?
European. Long scale.
I mostly communicate by text on the Internet, so I might as well use scientific notation.
I mostly communicate by text on the Internet, so I might as well use scientific notation.
- pholtos
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Re: How much is a billion?
A billion is like... something over 1. Yeah.
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Re: How much is a billion?
Numbers go 1, 2, a bunch, a bunch more, a billion.pholtos wrote:A billion is like... something over 1. Yeah.
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Re: How much is a billion?
I can understand the idea of the long scale but that would just confuse the hell out of most people. Especially when it came to numbers more than a million. And people have enough trouble trying to visualize such massive numbers as it is.
As for how much it is, 1000x1000x1000 is the most sensical way in my opinion.
As for how much it is, 1000x1000x1000 is the most sensical way in my opinion.
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Re: How much is a billion?
I thought it was just a language thing!
Like in my mind, it was just 'normal' for a billion to be 1.000.000.000 in english and 1.000.000.000.000 in french
(there is a 'milliard' between 'million' and 'billion')
Like in my mind, it was just 'normal' for a billion to be 1.000.000.000 in english and 1.000.000.000.000 in french
(there is a 'milliard' between 'million' and 'billion')
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Re: How much is a billion?
I've just thought, a thousand being ten hundreds doesn't really make much sense either. Should be a hundred hundreds. Maths was never my forte anyway.
- Lunikyuu
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Re: How much is a billion?
Forgot to mention this earlier, but didn't Myriad used to be the term used for 10,000 before it was changed to mean a lot of things in general? No idea what 100,000 would be.ano0maly wrote:Ideally, to complete the long system you would need a separate name for 100000 and 10000 just like there's a "thousand" instead of calling it "ten hundred".
- Snakebite969
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Re: How much is a billion?
So much simpler than having to write 9 or 12 zeros.Rénà wrote:十億
Wait. That second letter...
I'll stick to standard form... (I'll learn Japanese in summer. I have nothing else to do then)
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Re: How much is a billion?
僕もRénà wrote:十億
Luckily, we don't talk about these large numbers very often.
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Re: How much is a billion?
Oh god, I remember always thinking billion meant twelve zeros as I was growing up because my parents used it like that and then being very confused for ages because people kept telling me it meant different things.
Now I take it to mean nine zeros but I honestly just mostly avoid the word when I can.
Now I take it to mean nine zeros but I honestly just mostly avoid the word when I can.
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Re: How much is a billion?
it means (ten) (hundred millions)Snakebite969 wrote:So much simpler than having to write 9 or 12 zeros.Rénà wrote:十億
Wait. That second letter...
I'll stick to standard form... (I'll learn Japanese in summer. I have nothing else to do then)
(numbers above 10k are written in 10,000s and 100,000,000s)