Million seconds → ~11.6 days
Billion seconds → ~31.7 years
Trillion seconds → ~31,700 years

top 22 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 47 points 7 months ago (6 children)

No matter how many ways I see it represented, I still can't truly grasp how much more a billion is compared to a million. And I suspect most people are in that same boat.

  • source
  • hideshow 6 child comments
  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 child)

    I think that time is probably the most relatable and human scaled for million to billion, but even that goes out if scale between billion and trillion

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 10 points 7 months ago (4 children)

    No one should have a billion dollars. Thanks for the visualization though.

  • source
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] [S] 3 points 7 months ago (2 children)

    The concept movie In Time with Justin Timberlake thematizes it. In it the people don't have abstract money like us, they have lifetime which ticks down. The poor people live from day to day and only make money for one more day, the rich have milions of years.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 11 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    It’s interesting that the numbers per se are meaningless to us. Yes, billion is a thousand times more, but what is 11 days thousand times? No idea, long. Turns out it’s 31 years long! Nice thought.

  • source
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago* (2 children)

    How? I refuse to believe this and people just aren't thinking it through.

    11 days × 1000 is 11 000 days

    Theres 365 days in a year so it's about 30 years.

    Don't even need a calculator to do this math.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago* (1 child)

    I, mean, it’s just not obvious. You can calculate that, but what I’m saying is people aren’t too good with numbers. And we’re constantly manipulated because of that. Mainly to buy something, but also in others departments too.

    • E.g. try to do 5 minutes of intensive daily exercises, and bam! It’s over half an hour a week! Which is ⅓ of those who do three 30-minutes sessions a week. Try ten minutes a day, and it’s over an hour a week! Try fifteen minutes a day, and not many people do more sport than you!

    Throughout my life, I saw countless examples of how small numbers unfold into something quite big. But mainly with money, and how recklessly they are spent.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 2 points 7 months ago

    I addressed this in my comment when I said people just aren't thinking it through. The only people surprised that 10 minutes of exercise every day adds up to more than an hour a week are people just not thinking it though. Wow shocker, 10 × 7 = 70, that's totally not intuitive.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    Great… I’ve been alive for over 1.7 billion seconds. Glad you found a way to make me feel even older 🤷‍♂️😀

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 3 points 7 months ago (1 child)

    I'm more than a billion seconds old

  • source
  • hideshow 1 child comment
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    11574.074 days

  • source
  • [–] 1 point 7 months ago

    I should have a party when I turn 10^9^ seconds old.

  • source