A Meditation on the Numbers, by the Numbers

Last updated on: May 9, 2013 at 6:06 am by Faithful Democrats

A Meditation on the Numbers, by the Numbers 2013-05-09T06:06:55-06:00 Faithful Democrats

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I do not doubt that the over one trillion dollars of deficit is very real (particularly in terms of our relationship to China) and has very real effects (we see them every day on the news). And yet, there’s the flip side of the coin in which talk of millions, billions and trillions is merely used as rhetoric intended to scare us, to frighten us, and to incite our anger. Not that we shouldn’t be angry, but let’s make sure our anger is for the right reasons.

In his book Metamagical Themas, mathematician and popular writer Douglas Hofstadter includes an essay called “On Number Numbness.” The point of the essay is summed up well in this line from it: “I have always suspected that relatively few people really know the difference between a million and a billion… This kind of thing worries me. In a society where big numbers are commonplace, we cannot afford to have such appalling number ignorance as we do. Or do we actually suffer from number numbness? Are we growing ever number to ever-growing numbers?” This essay was written in May 1982, when the thought of the government spending a trillion dollars on anything was still ludicrous.

The number numbness Hofstadter suggests is, I think, as real twenty-seven years after Hofstadter first wrote about it as it is today. People who write on President Obama’s budget are sometimes encouraged by the fact that he has planned on reducing the now over one trillion dollar federal deficit to a mere half-trillion by the year 2012. AIG (as I wrote on two weeks ago) has now been given over $170 billion in bail out money, and-as we are all hearing about (and I hope protesting, from a Christian perspective)-has recently issued over $150 million in bonuses to its executives. What do these numbers mean, though?

I did a quick poll of my friends, and asked them what one billion means to them. A friend named Josh said, “$3.33 for every man, woman, and child living in the USA.” (His answer was reminiscent of something Congressman Barney Frank said today during the congressional hearing on AIG. Paraphrasing, it was something like this: “The $170 billion used to bail out AIG translates into over $500 out of each American’s tax dollars.”) My aunt Holly said simply that a billion is “More than I can visualize easily-a multitude, a plethora.” And another friend, Cynthia, called it “an insanely large number. Nobody can grasp what a million is, let alone a billion. But context matters. In the sciences or economics, it’s simply a unit of measurement.” A unit of measurement, indeed, and yet I don’t disagree with Cynthia that it is an “insanely large” unit of measurement.

In the Christian tradition, we have some impossible numbers of our own. I remember a hymn we used to sing in the Church of Christ, the church I grew up in-a fairly militant hymn, now that I think about it-the refrain of which proclaimed the miracle of Jesus’ death in this way:

“He could have called ten thousands angels

To destroy the world and set him free.

He could have called ten thousand angels,

But he died alone for you and me.”

If we’re looking for massive biblical numbers, consider the 144,000 elect mentioned in the book of Revelation (chapters 7 and 14), or the more than one million soldiers described in Chronicles’ account of David’s census (1 Chronicles 21:5). Finally, how about the two hundred million heavenly warriors sent from God to destroy humanity in Revelation (9:16)? In these Judeo-Christian examples-the hymn, 1 Chronicles and Revelation-one gets the sense that the numbers are used for exaggeration. (For instance, in the Chronicles, quantities just tend to be higher than the parallel accounts in the books of Kings.)

And maybe that is the case when it comes to our economy and our nation’s budget as well. I do not doubt that the over one trillion dollars of deficit is very real (particularly in terms of our relationship to China) and has very real effects (we see them every day on the news). And yet, there’s the flip side of the coin in which talk of millions, billions and trillions is merely used as rhetoric intended to scare us, to frighten us, and to incite our anger. Not that we shouldn’t be angry, but let’s make sure our anger is for the right reasons.

Here is one final take on the term “billion,” from my friend Joel. He refers to a billion as a “McDonalds marketing strategy.” This “humorous-if-it-weren’t-so-true” answer most closely captures the sense of number numbness I am trying to get across in his article. Do we go to McDonalds because they can boast of the “billions and billions served” there, or because the food tastes good and is prepared quickly? Honestly, I’m not sure what the answer is. Similarly, does the two hundred million-strong angelic army in Revelation help us, the readers, to understand God’s power as incomprehensibly mighty or simply mightily incomprehensible? Finally-and maybe most importantly-are we angered and upset about the United States’ financial meltdown because we keep hearing the impossibly high numbers, or because of the greed and corruption involved?

Or, to ask a more pointed question, is it possible that we hide in the safe anger that the numbers provide us with, rather than asking if our anger is a thin veil for our envy? In other words, is there a sense in this financial meltdown that “they got theirs, so why can’t we get ours?” (whether “they” is the AIG executives, other financial institutions that have been bailed out, banks that are throwing corporate parties with bailout money, and so on). I think the honest answer is yes, we are more than a little envious, and avoiding the knee-jerk reaction of anger or helplessness when faced with “millions, billions and trillions” involves admitting our own frustration and envy. From a Christian perspective all of these approaches are appropriate: a level head about the numbers, righteous anger, and humble introspection.

Reading back over this article, honestly I’m not sure what the main gist is. Perhaps this is the number numbness having its effect: it is hard even to know what to say in the face of such incomprehensible sums. God help us.

Featured Writers

Previous Post

March 16, 2009

Abortion: Different Moral Positions

Next Post

March 19, 2009 Lent Devotional-Reflection on Entry into Jerusalem (mule) and Poor People’s Campaign Mule Train

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Us About Us Action Center Advertise Ask a Theologian Ask a Theologian Blogs Books Campaign Blog Candidate Spotlights Commentary Donate Facebook Featured Writers Fellows Fellows From the Pulpit General Information Hillary Clinton Interfaith Blog Latest Media Center Media Center Media Center MyBlog MyBlog News Newsflash Newsflashes Our Team Reader Blogs RSS Sermon of the Week Shop Social Networking Static Items Support Talking Points Test blogs The Basics Theology Uncategorized YouTube

Select a Month November 2020 October 2020 February 2020 August 2019 July 2018 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 June 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 January 2006 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which queen visited Solomon to test his wisdom?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Queen Jezebel Queen Esther Queen Vashti Queen of Sheba