There are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth. How do we make sense of a number like that?

We recently heard that scientists are estimating that there are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth. Which made us wonder: how do we make sense of a number like that? This hour is all about how we relate to unimaginable numbers, both large and small. And, why our inability to conceptualize large numbers can have a real-world impact during times like a pandemic. GUESTS: Shabnam Mousavi: A scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and a senior scientist at the Center for Artificial Intelligence Sabine Nooten: An insect ecologist and a temporary principal investigator at the University of Würzburg Elizabeth Toomarian: Director of the Brainwave Learning Center at Synapse School and an educational neuroscience Researcher at Stanford University Edward Tufte: The author of five books on information design and data visualization Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.