Significant figures

[TheOrangeGuy09]

Why isn't the concept of significant figures applied to the calculations?

 

[TheOrangeGuy09]

Bump

 

[TheOrangeGuy09]

Bump

 

[TheOrangeGuy09]

Bump

 

[Ezaru]

Also curious about this

I've seen stuff like 9.02848363672726262c

It's quite silly

 

[TheOrangeGuy09]

Also curious about this

I've seen stuff like 9.02848363672726262c

It's quite silly

Yup
Doing this is equivalent to acting like the measurements are really that exact, which is just ridiculous

 

[Chritin]

Why isn't the concept of significant figures applied to the calculations?

Mostly because what we do on here isn't an exact science. Most of the time with my calcs, when I'm listing them on verse pages that is, I do 3 decimals, since that gives you a pretty good idea of how strong a feat is without having too much unnecessary detail. If you want to use sig figs its probably a good thing and I wouldn't discourage it, although it could lead to disingenuous answers (like in the end if you only had one sig fig, it could change a result that's 1.5 tons of TNT to 2 tons, or one that's 1.4 tons to 1).

 

[TheOrangeGuy09]

Mostly because what we do on here isn't an exact science.

This is the very point of calculations though. To get precise answers as much as possible. And having tons of numbers when your measurements don't have it is not that.

although it could lead to disingenuous answers (like in the end if you only had one sig fig, it could change a result that's 1.5 tons of TNT to 2 tons, or one that's 1.4 tons to 1).

This just means that your measuraments are uncertain, and the result must reflect the uncertainty.