Saturday 20 January 2007

Oh, Be Sensible

You know if you're doing a scientific experiment, and you have a sample size of say, 200? And 170 out of them display some result? And you repeat the experiment twice more per custom, and get 171 and 173 for those trials? And you punch the numbers into a calculator to find the average?

Please, please, please do not record the average value as 171.3333333. You'll look utterly stupid. Round it down to 171 or something, but please do not imply a level of accuracy that was not present in the original results.

That goes for the people who came up with the autoclaving procedure too. Yes, I know what 250 degrees Fahrenheit converts to, but that is no excuse to specify 121 degrees Celsius as the optimal temperature for killing bacteria. I hope you're not suggesting 122 degrees C results in poorer sterilisation.

As for those of you who declare the skirt hem of the school uniform must be 3.75 cm above the knees, I have nothing to say to you. You are beyond redemption.

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