Retorts

Milliard, Million,
What's a Billion?

I don't mean to be antagonistic, but I find this Duality of the Billion is, in some cases, very confusing. In the Maori settlement issue, they dropped the "billion" and started talking a thousand million. I almost held my breath for the uttering of the term "milliard", but no way. I find that the 10⁹ billion is creeping into scientific articles instead of the 10¹² billion, via ignorance or maybe complacency.

John Shallcross, Johnsonville

The issue is one which can cause intense debate amongst our editorial staff. Although there are those of us who yearn for the lost milliard, the US billion has become firmly entrenched in the English-speaking world. The 1991 Oxford Dictionary for Scientific Writers and Editors notes "One thousand million (109. Formerly, in the UK, one million million (1012)". It is, unfortunately, probably too late for a rescue attempt.

Phil Anderson, NZSM

So there!

Vicki Hyde, Editor, NZSM