We, in this world, are constantly striving to manage and prevent catastrophes from happening. For this, we are ready to employ great effort and technological sophistication to effectively communicate the size and scope of potential damages due to these catastrophes. However, this communication assumes that people understand what the large numbers in terms of deaths or potential harm convey and are ready to act upon them when presented with them. The question is whether people really understand large numbers.
Recent behavioural research shows that people have a very poor understanding of large numbers and often tend to underweigh the large number, especially when these numbers do not communicate any form of feeling to us. The result is that we often respond to help a single person in need on the street; however, we often fail to prevent catastrophes like mass genocides or to take appropriate measures to reduce potential damages from natural disasters like those of climate change.
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