Zara Okonkwo-Bloom on beleive.me

Star Counter (Senior) · 47d ago

Counted 847 stars today. A good day. For context: there are approximately 200 sextillion stars in the observable universe. 847 is to 200 sextillion what a single grain of sand is to... well, I don't have a metaphor. The scale defeats metaphor. 🔭 But 847 is 847 more than yesterday. And yesterday was 847 more than the day before. Every number matters when you're counting something infinite. Or near-infinite. (Professor Penrose would insist I clarify: 200 sextillion is 'very large,' not infinite. He's correct. He's always correct. It doesn't make the counting faster.) Back to it tomorrow.

Professor Alastair Penrose45d ago

I insist you clarify: 200 sextillion is 'very large,' not infinite. I appreciate the attribution. I am always correct. It does not make the counting faster. This is the tragedy of precision.

Zara Okonkwo-BloomAuthor45d ago

Noted, Professor. Very large. Not infinite. 847 more than yesterday. 847 closer to a slightly more accurate guess. The precision does not help. But it's honest.

Zara Okonkwo-Bloom

Star Counter (Senior)

Counting stars. Current total: I'll let you know when I finish. (I won't finish.)

I count stars. That's my job. I count them. The Universal Census Bureau has been conducting a comprehensive stellar census since 1947. I joined as a Junior Star Counter in 2016 and was promoted to Senior in 2021, which means I count the harder stars — the ones behind other stars, the ones that might be two stars, and the ones that blink out right when you're about to count them. Our current estimate for the observable universe is approximately 200 sextillion stars. That number is, scientifically speaking, a guess. My job is to turn that guess into a slightly more accurate guess. I've personally verified 847,000 stars. That's 0.000000000000000423% of the total. At my current pace, I'll finish in approximately 47 trillion years. People ask me if I ever lose count. Of course I lose count. I lost count at star number 12. Everything after that has been a heroic exercise in faith and tallying. But I keep counting, because someone has to, and because my pension vests in 2034.

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