Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ttidcc.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe From: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Re: The Perils of Nutrasweet: digits of precision Message-ID: <637@ttidcc.UUCP> Date: Tue, 6-Aug-85 14:29:39 EDT Article-I.D.: ttidcc.637 Posted: Tue Aug 6 14:29:39 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 7-Aug-85 02:55:14 EDT References: <771@burl.UUCP> <394@petrus.UUCP> <182@steinmetz.UUCP> Reply-To: hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) Organization: The Cat Factory Lines: 40 Summary: In article <82@unc.unc.UUCP> oliver@unc.UUCP (Bill Oliver) writes: >In article <1634@orca.UUCP> andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) writes: >>>> I am positive that more than .007% of the >>>> people I know are affected by Nutrasweet-sweetened soft drinks, >>>> so I am much more inclined to believe the 10% figure. >>> >>> 3-digit precision based solely on anecdotal evidence? >>> This sugar/aspartame/honey/etc stuff >>> is getting more & more ridiculous every day! >> >>Both the quoted numbers (.007% and 10%) have only one significant >>digit. Leading and trailing zeroes are not significant. >> >>If we're going to argue that science is on our side, we must avoid >>abusing mathematics, the language of science. >> >> -=- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!orca!andrew) [UUCP] > >Perhaps the misunderstanding is due to problems of measurement as >opposed to numerical representation. While, indeed, as far as >representation goes, 7E-3 and 1E1 are of the same significance, >a measurement of 0.007 has a much different significance than >10. For instance, a measurement of 0.007 grams implies an accuracy >of 0.0005 grams, while a measurement of 10 grams implies an accuracy >of 0.5 grams. Indeed, in this case, 10 is by no means the same as >10.000, and the trailing zeroes are of great importance. This is what I was trying to say in an earlier posting. My apologies for my misuse of terminology. (... I will not shoot from the hip. I will not shoot from the hip. I will not shoot from the hip. I will not shoot from the hip. ...) -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI Common Sense is what tells you that a ten 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. pound weight falls ten times as fast as a Santa Monica, CA 90405 one pound weight. (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe