Re: [asa] Happy Birthday Charlie

Near the end of your essay you said:

"In one sense I can see why some Christians are disturbed by Darwin or evolution, but the whole picture of a five billion year old Earth which first produced life four billion years ago and then ultimately all the intricate variety of life we know today is breathtaking and should fill us with awe and wonder – of the Creator."

OK if "billion" = 10^9 - i.e., a thousand million, which is the common American meaning. But I thought the British usage was "billion" = 10^12 - i.e., a million million. That's also the case in Australia, something I had to bear in mind when I taught there 30+ years ago. Has this changed recently? (French usage parallels American, while in Germany die Billion = 10^12 and die Milliarde = 10^9.)

Shalom,
George

---- Michael Roberts <michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk> wrote:
> You have lost me. Am I short of a few neurons?
>
> Michael
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <gmurphy10@neo.rr.com>
> To: <asa@calvin.edu>; "Michael Roberts" <michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk>
> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 5:02 AM
> Subject: Re: [asa] Happy Birthday Charlie
>
>
> > Michael -
> >
> > Thanks for sharing this. But what's with the American use of "billion" =
> > 10^9?
> >
> > Shalom,
> > George
> >
> >
> >
> > ---- Michael Roberts <michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk> wrote:
> >> Michael Roberts, Charles Darwin: a Fulcrum Appreciation
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=342
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
>
>

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Received on Mon Feb 16 10:58:56 2009