• SirDerpy@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    The example I like for this is the US federal budget.

    $5m is about 15 good homes.

    $1b is about 3000 good homes.

    We don’t deal with things more expensive than a good home. And, 3000 is already a hard number to envision.

    $1b is a remarkably hard number to wrap one’s head around.

    • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Right? I just learned the upgrades to the Minuteman nuclear missiles will cost $98.5 billion, out of a $1.5 trillion force modernization package.

      If humans can’t understand the scale of the universe, how is anyone supposed to understand the scale of the US budget?