All Fermi answers
Fermi #22 · Question 3

How long would it take Siri to count from one to a million out loud?

Explore the official answer and the simple reasoning behind this Fermi estimate.

3QUESTION 3 OF 3

Answer & explanation

The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.

Answer & explanation

Official answer

37

days

How to estimate it

Fermi’s official “Napkin math”

Most numbers in that range take about two words to say, like fifty three or four hundred twelve. Multiply two words by a million and you get roughly eight million words total. A voice assistant talks about as fast as a person, around 150 words a minute. Divide it out.

Words to say, roughly
≈ 8 million
Speaking pace
≈ 150 words/min
8M ÷ 150 ÷ 60 ÷ 24
≈ 37 days

Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.

Source calculation & reference
Words to say 1 to 1,000,000
= 8,019,002
Average speaking pace
≈ 150 words/min
8,019,002 ÷ 150 ÷ 60 ÷ 24
≈ 37 days

Reference cited by Fermi: Arithmetic: word count for numbers 1-1,000,000 spoken aloud (American English, no 'and') at an average 150 wpm speaking pace

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