A Study in Bigness

Dear Dr. Sadie,

I am 7 years old, and I have a serious question. None of the grown-ups I asked have given me a good answer to it, so I thought I'd ask you. What's the biggest number in the world?

- Curious

Ten. Because it's this big. [Dr. Sadie spreads her arms out wide.] Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen and Sixteen, which is six and one, are all bigger than ten, though. One thousand is really the biggest number. It's THAT big. [Dr. Sadie spreads her arms wider, so they are behind her back.] No one gets to be a thousand years old. People can live to be a hundred, but not a thousand.