Maths Is Hard

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.

Eric Hoffer

A researcher at Google using one of their massive computing platforms recently calculated the irrational number pi to 100 trillion digits . Much like a billion, a trillion is difficult to comprehend. To put some context to these big numbers, 1 million seconds is about 11 days and 13 hours. One billion seconds is just shy of 32 years, and 1 trillion seconds is near 32,000 years. How many stars are in our Milky Way galaxy? About 100 to 400 billion. On a side note, looking in my wallet after thinking about these big numbers is pretty humbling.

About the author

Eric Hoffer (July 15, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American moral and social philosopher. He was the author of ten books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that The Ordeal of Change (1963) was his finest work. The Eric Hoffer Book Award is an international literary prize established in his honor. Berkeley College awards an annual literary prize named jointly for Hoffer.