The magnitude of difference between a million and a billion is not that intuitive, but it can be illustrated with this simple example of the time scale:
- A million seconds is 12 days.
- A billion seconds is 31 years.
- A trillion seconds is 31,688 years
It's a useful example to use when debating with fundamentalists on the topic of evolution especially when they make the claim that there hasn't been enough time since the big bang for evolution to occur. This objection often comes from a lack of awareness on their part of just how big these numbers are i.e. the universe has been around for 13.7 billion years, that's even longer than the time it takes to get to make an appointment with an NHS GP!
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