> to the tune of $1.5 x 10^8 USD Was it really necessary to type it like that?

bmir-alum-007 · on Aug 12, 2015

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DarkIye · on Aug 11, 2015

For general sanity: $150,000,000

victorNicollet · on Aug 11, 2015

To be pedantic, 1.5e8 carries additional information about accuracy: $150,000,000 ± $5,000,000. By contrast, 1.50e8 would be ten times as accurate, and so on.

Of course, accuracy is hardly relevant here.

moron4hire · on Aug 11, 2015

s/accuracy/precision

Sorry, I don't usually try to be pedantic, but when the conversation is already about nitpicking, I think it's necessary.

Significant figures are precision, not accuracy. Accuracy is "being in the ballpark". Precision is "tight groups".

victorNicollet · on Aug 11, 2015

I'm sorry for the confusion. English is not my first language, and I resorted to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accuracy_and_precision to pick between "accuracy" and "precision".

mikeash · on Aug 11, 2015

To put it another way: "pi is exactly 3" is extremely precise, but not very accurate.

tankenmate · on Aug 11, 2015

The very next task of mine

is a new value of pi to define.

I think I'll use 3

it's much simpler you see;

than 3.14159

dredmorbius · on Aug 11, 2015

You've simpified pi, that's fo' shore.

But rivalry says "level-up score".

With competitive drive,

It's yet higher I strive.

The value I'll use shall be four.

keithblaha · on Aug 12, 2015

Well played

moron4hire · on Aug 11, 2015

On the other hand, if you had said "Pi is 3", you would have been accurate, but not very precise. If you said "Pi is "Pi is 3.14", you would have been so precise that you could have gotten to the moon and back.

mikeash · on Aug 11, 2015

Damn, and here I thought I needed to build a gigantic rocket.

moron4hire · on Aug 11, 2015

My statement was accurate, just lacking in precision on the details :P

e40 · on Aug 11, 2015

Or, the usual and shorter $150M.

rz2k · on Aug 11, 2015

At the very least keep it to multiples of three, as in 150e6 or 150 * 10^6! Though a very simple 150 million is easy to think of in terms of erasing past donations that sounded impressive.

probinso · on Aug 11, 2015

I don't think that they mean , one hundred and fifty times ten to the sixth factorial