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Literally Nineteen Eighty-Four (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 week ago by MisterFrog@lemmy.world to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21049862

The only numbers I will ever spell are one and zero, and only when using them as a pronoun, or for emphasis, respectively.

Is there ever a reason to not to use symbols when dealing with numbers? Why would "fourteen whatevers" ever be preferable to "14 whatevers". It's just so much easier to read numbers as symbols, not spelled out.

(Caveat, not including multipliers, like "273 billion").

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[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago

In nineteen ninety eight The Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and he plummeted 16 ft through an announcer's table.

[-] Asclepiaz@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

**Sixteen feet

[-] BodePlotHole@lemmy.world 33 points 6 days ago

Engineer here.

Typically when I type out professional emails or documents that contain numerical values, I write out the number followed by the digits in brackets if it is ten [10] or below for cases of amount, unless I am listing out the counts of items, then I only use digits.

"The updated electrical design will require three [3] new, pad-mount 500kVA transformers to replace the three [3] existing 225kVA transformers,each located on floors four, five, and six."

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

Can I ask why, though? I'm also an engineer and I just never spell it out, if I can avoid it (so far, luckily, haven't had push back since I'm on delivery and not proposals or anything like that.)

To me, it's just more annoying to read it as words, and no matter what you do, mistakes can still happen, including when it's spelled out.

Just my 2 cents.

[-] BodePlotHole@lemmy.world 18 points 6 days ago

I work in MEP and our emails are always considered legal documents as they can be used as evidence if ever we are taken to court. So we always treat them very technical and try to over explain everything so clients/plan reviewers/contractors can't misinterpret. It's kind of an old school thing, but the head of our department is an old school guy.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

I only spell out numbers as the first word of a sentence because idk how to capitalize in that situation.

[-] biovoid@midwest.social 1 points 4 days ago

I'll write out a count without a digit if it's immediately next to a value. Like without other qualifiers: "three 500 kVA transformers", versus "3 500 kVA transformers" (horrible), or even "three [3] 500 kVA transformers" (acceptable, but perhaps cluttered)

(Also note the space between value and unit—technically required but I'm not consistent about it)

[-] YeetPics@mander.xyz 23 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

"One and eight hundred and fifty two thousandths".

Or

"1.852"

You get to decide what's efficient to communicate a specific value based on the criticality of precision and the format of communication.

Like it or not, but peak-compatibility IS peak-efficiency when it comes to language.

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago

1.852 all the way in every single context. I will die on this hill haha

[-] YeetPics@mander.xyz 3 points 6 days ago

We die on that hill together, brother!

[-] LANIK2000@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

I especially hate what we the Czechs do. We mostly read numbers the same (21 = twenty one), but then once every blue moon some dimwit says 21 like "one and twenty" like he's fucking German or something. German is bad enough, but why do we have to mix it???

[-] notthebees@reddthat.com 1 points 5 days ago

I thought it was french that did that

[-] LANIK2000@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

French is even more special.

Tho like I said before, it's not perfectly accurate. In Czech 90 + 2 is the official way, but many people around Prague and closer to Germany do in fact occasionally say 2 + 90.

[-] somebodysomewhere@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago

Not just an engineer thing though. Everyone finds it obnoxious.

[-] Thisiswritteningerman@midwest.social 7 points 5 days ago

For manufacturing I've taken to using spelled out numbers when quantities and names both use numbers. Four 4s rather than 4 4s. Makes it harder for someone to speed through an email and get the completey wrong information.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 8 points 5 days ago

Next you’re gonna ask me to use actual scientific notation instead of to the most relevant 3 decimal points. I will not use your bullshit centimeters, that’s just 10 mms

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Absolutely, mm > cm all the way. Other than you putting s at the end of mm, we don't take the Lord's (metric) name in vain around here.

I do feel kind of sorry for East Asia though, since their languages seperate at intervals of 10⁴, rather than 10³. The giga and mega prefixes just make no sense there. 1 GW = 10,0000,0000 W and 1 MW = 100,0000.

Language strikes again

Not sure, but perhaps they would prefer a prefix of 10^-4^ rather than mm (10^-3^).

[-] Classy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago

Wtf I've never heard of this, what a cursed way to notate large numbers

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago

It's not cursed, it's just a different way of grouping. Nothing about grouping in multiples of 10³ is a more natural grouping, were just more used to it.

And I'm pointing out how metric prefixes are actually euro-centric, and that's annoying for them. But there's nothing fundamentally worse about breaking digits in groups of 4, rather than 3

1,000,000,000,000 = 1,0000,0000,0000 (10^12^) [Meme of black and white muscular arms embracing.]

Look up the indian system, now that's actually cursed.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_numbering_system

[-] thann@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 5 days ago

Zero.
One.

[-] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Zero.
One.
Zero.
One.
One.
Zero.
Zero.
One.

[-] ValenThyme@reddthat.com 8 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

🎶The humans are dead! 🎵

[-] elollie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 days ago

❤️

[-] ValenThyme@reddthat.com 1 points 4 days ago

looollllllllllllllll you!!!!! 🩷❤️🥰😍🩷

[-] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

That's one way to summarise what that number sequence is tied to.

[-] Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 6 days ago

As a mathematician, I refuse to do this.

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Stay strong friend 🫡, and don't you let them take your numerals from you

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this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2024
466 points (97.7% liked)

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