Magnitudle Journal
Curiosity, scale, and estimation thinking
Daily curiosity, estimation thinking, and question deep-dives from the world behind Magnitudle.
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How Many Legal Move Sequences Are Possible in the First 3 Turns of Chess?
Chess starts with just 20 possible moves. Three turns later, there are over 119 million possible game states. Here's how to estimate it — and why the number matters.
Read articleHow Many Times Do All the World's Managed Honeybees Flap Their Wings Per Hour?
Honeybee wings move at around 230 beats per second. Across trillions of bees, that adds up to something astonishing. Here's the estimation.
ReadHow Many Oscar Nominations Have Ever Been Given Out?
The Oscars have been running for nearly a century. Here's how to estimate the total nomination count — and what the aggregate reveals about the institution.
ReadHow Many Words Are in the Harry Potter Series?
You could look it up. Or you could work it out — and get surprisingly close. Here's how.
ReadHow Many Chickens Are Alive on Earth Right Now?
There are more chickens alive right now than all wild bird species combined. Here's how to estimate the total — and why the number is so much larger than people expect.
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