This doesn't mean you can picture a billion or a quintillion objects in your head—nobody can. But, with exponential notation, we can think about and calculate with such numbers. Pretty good for self-taught beings who started out with no possessions and who could number their fellows on their fingers and toes.

— Carl Sagan Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millenium (1997)

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