tomohelix | 3 comments | 2 weeks ago
If an atom is a brick. Then a single protein has the complexity of a standard house (~10,000 bricks). A single bacteria contains millions of these proteins in a dense, interconnected network that communicate with each others. By this standard, one cell is the equivalent of a well run metropolis with its own waste disposal, work sites, government, residential, recreation, police, etc.
And this huge city can be run at near peak efficiency allowed by physics. A feat of engineering we cannot match despite all of our technological achievements.
All contained in a tiny droplet of oil so small nobody noticed it until a few centuries ago. Yet so numerous and ubiquitous it shapes every aspect of life on Earth. It amazes me everytime.
BrandoElFollito | 0 comments | 2 weeks ago
As an ex-physicist, I was always interested in numbers and the way we approach them. There are "numbers in calculation" where one writes 10^12 and this is just a part of an equation, you do not relate to it at all.
And then there is 1, 2, maybe to 15 that you feel instinctively (you can estimate the number quite well), then it goes worse for 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 10000 where you usually have no idea if you are not used to a reference (say, you are a teacher and you know that your room is 200 people - there is a chance you can estimate that number when you see people outside that room).
Millions and whatnot are just an abstract concept.
So your analogy with bricks and cities is on spot. Thanks!