It isn't that different today, outside scientists most people cant comprehend what a trillion would look like. Laypeople merely see that as "really big".
Superstitions about numbers exist all over the world. In Japan, some buildings skip a floor number 4 in the elevator because that number is considered bad luck. Numbers like 7 and 40 are popular in multiple religious texts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_in...se_culture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_superstitions
http://www.indiadivine.org/content/topic...y-unlucky/
Religious numerology is simply another bullshit superstition on par with dietary superstitions.
Superstitions about numbers exist all over the world. In Japan, some buildings skip a floor number 4 in the elevator because that number is considered bad luck. Numbers like 7 and 40 are popular in multiple religious texts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_in...se_culture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_superstitions
http://www.indiadivine.org/content/topic...y-unlucky/
Religious numerology is simply another bullshit superstition on par with dietary superstitions.