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Author Topic: One of my pet peeves  (Read 209 times)
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Mark
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« on: July 31, 2007, 07:28:59 PM »
People who don't have a clue how to properly state a number.

This has been a peeve of mine for a long time so I've finally decided to rant about it.

Tonight I'm driving home and there's a story about J&J laying off 4% of their work force.  In the story it was stated that this would save J&J "a billion and a half dollars a year."  That is one billion dollars plus one half of a dollar or $1,000,000,000.50.  I am sure what they meant to say was "one and a half billion dollars."  That's only a difference of $499,999,999.50!  I hear this all the time.  It's not right and it bugs the hell out of me.

Mark
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« Reply #1 on: July 31, 2007, 09:14:24 PM »
I've always been in favor of using decimal notation. It's similar in logic to scientific notation (X * 10y) and easier to pronounce. Call it "one point five billion" and there's no ambiguity: 1.5 * 1,000,000,000 = 1,500,000,000.
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Adam Parnau
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Mark
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« Reply #2 on: July 31, 2007, 11:20:14 PM »
Works for me.  But I have no doubt that some nit-wit out there would start saying "one billion point five" and the whole thing would start over  Cheesy
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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all poker players are created equal, that they are endowed by their buy-in with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Raise, Call, Fold, and the pursuit of Pocket Aces.
Dr. Steed
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« Reply #3 on: July 31, 2007, 11:26:50 PM »
Quote from: Mark on July 31, 2007, 11:20:14 PM
Works for me.  But I have no doubt that some nit-wit out there would start saying "one billion point five" and the whole thing would start over  Cheesy

That would be why Simon invented the LART.  Wink
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Adam Parnau
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