Why is it hard for us to conceptualize really big numbers / distances. (1 billion / 1 lightyear)
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Well conceptualizing a billion is so hard due to how similar is sounds to a million. “Millionaires and Billionaires” rolls off the tongue so easily, so we often group them into the same category. However, there is a vast difference, an easier explanation for me was when you realize one billionaire is equivalent one thousand millionaires. For lightyears, I’d say it’s mainly due to the current state of space exploration. We’ve barely scratched the surface of how much we have explored. In our daily lives, the most distance we’d go would be a couple thousand miles for a plane trip, so it’s easier to associate a plane trip with being a thousand miles. Currently, no one has experienced a “light year” so we really cannot associate with anything, or have it relative to the amount of time it would take to achieve that distance
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