KatieMc

Recommended for mental math and http://xkcd.com/ fans.  The questions raised are downright silly, and you can just picture a dorm room party where they are conceived.   Even so, the author demonstrates some solid problem solving skills to give an approximation or simulation of a likely scenario.  There is nothing like hypothetical problem solving to under stand the difference between really big numbers and really big compounded numbers.   

Question - if all the humans on earth could gather in one spot, what US state could they all fit in?

a) Rhode Island

b) Indiana

c) Oregon

d) Texas

The answer is

While that may seem surprising at first, it's a pretty simple problem to figure.    

Silliness aside, it is important to be able to puzzle through these things and understand what the magnitude of a number means.   Ignorance is not bliss, but advertisers and politicians are hoping you remain in the dark.   Along those lines, the author indirectly teaches healthy skepticism of facts and figures found on the internet.[citation needed]