- #1
johann1301h
- 71
- 1
- TL;DR Summary
- Discussion about number of valid digits
I am trying to gain some perspective into the topic of «number of valid digits» when doing physics problems.
I have been doing physicsproblems for å long time, but i have never really understood why the rules regarding number of digits to include in the final answer - is the way that it is.
I think the core principle behind it all is this;
DONT OVERREPRESENT DATA
And i think this again is a principle sprung out of emperical idealism/philosophy.
But then i ask, why is it so wrong to «OVERREPRESENT DATA»
Take for example the rating system at IMdB.com, for rating movies. Each visitor has a chouse between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 stars to rate a movie. Not for instance 9.2. But yet the rating «of shawshank redemtion» is 9.2, even though not one single visitor gave it 9.2 stars. This is clearly(?) an overrepresentation of data. Why is it right or acceptable to use more digits then is in the data in this case, but not when you are for example measuring the magnetic field strength around the earth, or any other emprical measurment?
I have been doing physicsproblems for å long time, but i have never really understood why the rules regarding number of digits to include in the final answer - is the way that it is.
I think the core principle behind it all is this;
DONT OVERREPRESENT DATA
And i think this again is a principle sprung out of emperical idealism/philosophy.
But then i ask, why is it so wrong to «OVERREPRESENT DATA»
Take for example the rating system at IMdB.com, for rating movies. Each visitor has a chouse between 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 stars to rate a movie. Not for instance 9.2. But yet the rating «of shawshank redemtion» is 9.2, even though not one single visitor gave it 9.2 stars. This is clearly(?) an overrepresentation of data. Why is it right or acceptable to use more digits then is in the data in this case, but not when you are for example measuring the magnetic field strength around the earth, or any other emprical measurment?