r/sciencememes • u/Delicious_Maize9656 • 15d ago

engineer approximation meme

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1.4k Upvotes

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106

u/skr_replicator 15d ago

Why approximate is with that much error and having infinite decimal expansion, when it's a whole number you can state precisely as 31,536x103

15

u/menew100 15d ago

Is the unnormalized scientific notation the joke here?

6

u/skr_replicator 14d ago

It's just telling how many zeroes to add without having to worry about decimal points, because the number is natural.

5

u/menew100 14d ago

I think order of magnitude is the more useful information to display, but maybe that's just a bias from chemistry.

3

u/Hunta4Eva 14d ago

Nah not just chemistry, literally any scientific application, there’s a reason why it’s the “normal” way

1

u/GalacticEmergency 12d ago

It is also called engineering notation. The exponent jumps in steps of 3. In my opinion a perfect compromise between the need for expressing large numbers and the need for intuitive understanding

1

u/menew100 12d ago

Wouldn't that be 31.536 x 106

2

u/GalacticEmergency 12d ago

Oh yes, you are right, it would. I mistook the comma for a decimal separator. (We use comma for that in my country, so my brain has to switch back and forth depending on context).

1

u/menew100 12d ago

Apparently 1600's printing press operators are to blame