# How big are we? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 14, 2007, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335 "2007-11-14T03:52:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/21 "2007-11-14T06:04:55Z")
Isaac Asimov wrote a whole book about this called _The Measure of the Universe_ in which he takes various familiar measurements and scales them up to the cosmic and down to the infinitesimal. It’s not about humans specifically, but these are some of the relevant measures: 10[sup]-13[/sup] metres: diameter of the proton 10[sup]-7[/sup] metres: diameter of influenza virus 10[sup]-3[/sup] metres: smallest spider known 10[sup]0[/sup] metres: half the height of tall human male 10[sup]2[/sup] metres: 33-story building 10[sup]4[/sup] metres: slightly more then height of Everest 10[sup]8[/sup] metres: slightly less than diameter of Saturn 10[sup]12[/sup] metres: distance from Sun to halfway between orbits of Jupiter and Saturn 10[sup]16[/sup] metres: one light-year 10[sup]21[/sup] metres: length of Milky Way Galaxy 10[sup]27[/sup] metres: circumference of known universe Other chapters scale area, volume, mass, time, temperature, speed and so forth up and down. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/22 "2007-11-14T08:54:26Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] What **Cyn** said. Who are we important to, other than ourselves? [/QUOTE] The fact that we are important to ourselves makes us important, since the OP’er didn’t specify anyone else in terms of judging importance, it can be assumed the importance, in this case, is for us to decide. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/23 "2007-11-14T12:07:22Z")
If I were the size of the visible universe, my wang would be about 914,000,000 light-years long. As it stands (snork!), we are really, really, really, really, really, really, really, small compared to the universe. But size doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![tonedef](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@tonedef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonedef)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/24 "2007-11-14T12:38:48Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Really. I used to lose sleep thinking about this when I was a kid. Now I’m regressing, so, scientifically, just how big are we. Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] We are this big -\> |----------------------------------------------------------------------| ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/25 "2007-11-14T12:54:01Z")
This seems to be the time to link to the Eames’ [Powers of Ten](http://www.gofish.com/player.gfp?gfid=30-1025863) video… ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/26 "2007-11-14T12:57:15Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Right. I should have said “relatively”. Like on a celestial scale. It seems odd to me that we should be so infinitesimal, and yet so important. But I didn’t want to get Uncle Albert involved. [/QUOTE] When compared to most other organisms, we are pretty huge. So if you’re feeling like an insignificant speck on a cosmic scale, spare a thought for the enormous biomass of smaller creatures out there. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/27 "2007-11-14T13:54:39Z")
[QUOTE=Cyn] Important to who? Infinitesmial to who? Some of us are important to others of us, but size is relative. I’m small compared to my husband, he is small compared to an NFL linebacker… [/QUOTE] Important _and_ iinfinitesimal to the universe. After all, we own it (so far). Like if cockroaches own the house they live in. No, make that termites. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/28 "2007-11-14T13:56:52Z")
Remember when you were a kid, how important “big” was? Remember saying "you’re not (you ain’t) so big. Like that. ---
**Author:** ![nd\_n8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/439d5e/32.png) [@nd\_n8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nd_n8)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/29 "2007-11-14T14:15:04Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Remember when you were a kid, how important “big” was? Remember saying "you’re not (you ain’t) so big. Like that. [/QUOTE] Meh… We ain’t so big. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/30 "2007-11-14T14:19:57Z")
[QUOTE=Meurglys] This seems to be the time to link to the Eames’ [Powers of Ten](http://www.gofish.com/player.gfp?gfid=30-1025863) video… [/QUOTE] Yeah. That’s the kind of thinking that used to steal my sleep. I’ll feel better when we finally find some more people out there. Quaoarans, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/31 "2007-11-14T14:54:49Z")
How big are we? Big enough to be governed by the laws of big physics. I laugh at you little quantum things. I think we are on the lower end of ‘big’. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/32 "2007-11-14T15:16:28Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] How big are we? Big enough to be governed by the laws of big physics. I laugh at you little quantum things. I think we are on the lower end of ‘big’. [/QUOTE] And I slightly raise one contemptuous eyebrow at your big physics. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/33 "2007-11-14T15:26:34Z")
I’m kind of a big deal ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/34 "2007-11-14T22:10:46Z")
I’m big in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/35 "2007-11-14T22:51:04Z")
“we” are (sic) 12 point. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/36 "2007-11-14T22:51:28Z")
It’s a great big universe and we’re all really puny. We’re just tiny little specks about the size of Mickey Rooney. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/37 "2007-11-14T22:55:11Z")
We are so big we don’t take Spielberg’s calls. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/38 "2007-11-14T23:07:58Z")
[QUOTE=Meurglys] This seems to be the time to link to the Eames’ [Powers of Ten](http://www.gofish.com/player.gfp?gfid=30-1025863) video… [/QUOTE] Not to mention the mind-expanding [Powers of One](http://xkcd.com/271/) webcomic. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/39 "2007-11-14T23:15:15Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Somewhere around 6 feet tall and 160 pounds, presumably. Unless we’re female. [/QUOTE] Not if you count the women I dated between 1991-1999. I was in a tall person’s club and didn’t date any woman that was shorter than 5’ 10". The tallest was 6’ 5". That was fun. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-are-we/426335/40 "2007-11-15T00:15:07Z")
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