Retorts

A Billion Bothers

Regarding the term "billion" -- it is passable when talking of finance, but it really is a "milliard".

When I read scientific magazines, I find that there is no indication of if it is to the power of nine or twelve. It is very perplexing when this duality is manifest in really high-flown publications.

It's a bit like saying "there are six thousand million billion, give or take a few". Will we ever drop this mugwump attitude to this sort of thing?

John Shallcross, Johnsonville

We follow the US style of one billion being ten to the nine (10 9).It seems that this is becoming more prevalent worldwide.