Editing 2283: Exa-Exabyte
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | + | {{incomplete|Created by 10 EXA-EXABYTES OF APPLES. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
| − | This is a comic about the difficulty of picturing or understanding large numbers. As mentioned in the comic, an {{w|exabyte}} is 10<sup>18</sup> bytes, while an "exa-exabyte"—not a common word, but one that | + | This comic is the eight comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] related to the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus pandemic|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}. This comic does not clearly mention the virus but is a deliberate allusion to the biology and complexity behind the Coronavirus outbreak, or, if not a deliberate allusion, its theme of biological complexity could have been inspired thereby. |
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| + | This is a comic about the difficulty of picturing or understanding large numbers. As mentioned in the comic, an {{w|exabyte}} is 10<sup>18</sup> bytes, while an "exa-exabyte"—not a common word, but one that makes sense if you apply the principles of {{w|metric prefix}}es—is 10<sup>36</sup> bytes. 10<sup>36</sup> is properly given the name undecillion (in short scale, and sextillion in long scale). | ||
According to [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/counting-all-the-dna-on-earth.html a 2015 article] by ''The New York Times'', researchers estimate that there are about 5 * 10<sup>37</sup> DNA {{w|base pair}}s on Earth (50 trillion trillion trillion). So [[Miss Lenhart]]'s claim of 10 exa-exabytes—1 * 10<sup>37</sup> bytes is a reasonable approximation ({{w|Fermi estimation}}). (The estimate was 5 plus or minus 4 * 10<sup>37</sup>. There are 4 possible base pairs, or 2 bits per pair, a byte is 8 bits.) | According to [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/21/science/counting-all-the-dna-on-earth.html a 2015 article] by ''The New York Times'', researchers estimate that there are about 5 * 10<sup>37</sup> DNA {{w|base pair}}s on Earth (50 trillion trillion trillion). So [[Miss Lenhart]]'s claim of 10 exa-exabytes—1 * 10<sup>37</sup> bytes is a reasonable approximation ({{w|Fermi estimation}}). (The estimate was 5 plus or minus 4 * 10<sup>37</sup>. There are 4 possible base pairs, or 2 bits per pair, a byte is 8 bits.) | ||
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[[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty in visualizing a number even as large as ''one'' exabyte (10<sup>18</sup> bytes). | [[Cueball]] expresses his difficulty in visualizing a number even as large as ''one'' exabyte (10<sup>18</sup> bytes). | ||
| − | [[Megan]] trivializes the problem away by describing an exabyte as 10 apples, with "18 smaller apples, floating next to them and a little above", representing the notation 10<sup>18</sup> using apples for digits. This is entirely unhelpful, as using apples in a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unary_numeral_system base-1] enumeration offers no obvious advantages over base-10 in understanding exponents; Megan's bad advice | + | [[Megan]] trivializes the problem away by describing an exabyte as 10 apples, with "18 smaller apples, floating next to them and a little above", representing the notation 10<sup>18</sup> using apples for digits. This is entirely unhelpful, as using apples in a [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unary_numeral_system base-1] enumeration offers no obvious advantages over base-10 in understanding exponents; Megan's bad advice & Cueball's seemingly ready acceptance of it causes Miss Lenhart to yell out "No!" in frustration. |
The title text further trivializes the problem of visualizing large numbers by suggesting that you can visualize 10<sup>18</sup> as a number by simply visualizing the similar-looking number of 10<sup>13</sup> with some extra lines drawn to turn the 3 into an 8. Changes in exponents can cause huge changes in the value shown, and this is no exception: Changing that 3 into an 8 changes the value by a factor of 100,000. | The title text further trivializes the problem of visualizing large numbers by suggesting that you can visualize 10<sup>18</sup> as a number by simply visualizing the similar-looking number of 10<sup>13</sup> with some extra lines drawn to turn the 3 into an 8. Changes in exponents can cause huge changes in the value shown, and this is no exception: Changing that 3 into an 8 changes the value by a factor of 100,000. | ||
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[[1605: DNA]] also discusses how "hard" biology is. | [[1605: DNA]] also discusses how "hard" biology is. | ||
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| + | ====XKCD Continuity==== | ||
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| + | In [[1519:_Venus]], release date May 1, 2015, [[Miss Lenhart]] indicated that she was retiring as a primary or secondary school teacher in a month. Here we see Megan and Cueball, both adults, sitting in a classroom setting with Miss Lenhart providing instruction. A reasonable assumption is that Miss Lenhart has taken some form of {{w|adult education}} job during her retirement. For example, in the United States it is common for {{w|community colleges}} to use low paid {{w|adjunct professors}} who either have a day job or another source of income such as a teacher's pension. | ||
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| + | There is also a hint of irony in her having to now put up with the same type of blatantly incorrect explanations that she herself was freely giving out just prior to her retirement. | ||
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
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:Miss Lenhart: '''''No!''''' | :Miss Lenhart: '''''No!''''' | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
