I'm convinced: the world needs a number.

[Demon-Xanth]

Over and over I notice that people have a hard time making decisions unless it can be boiled down to a number.

Computer? CPU in MHz/GHz
Car? 0-60, 1/4 mile, top speed, take your pick (but you can only choose one)
Stereo? Watts
TV? inches
Steak? Oz

Most people fail to notice things outside of that number. Like computer as a whole, the feel of the car, the quality of the sound, the reception of the TV, the grade of the beef. This is missed because someone saw "50 Oz steak" and went for it (yes, places do offer 50 Oz steaks, I worked at one). In the realm of testing and calibrating, the all important "number" is god. Is a shaft worn? y/n. Not good enough. Is the shaft worn to 0.1" +/- 0.02"? That works, who cares that the shaft may have unusual wear charactaristic that makes this number meaningless, the number is god.

And god cannot be wrong.

Who is the best basketball player? The one with the most points per game? Perhaps. The one with the most 3 point shots? Maybe. The one with the most steals? Possibly. The one who plays with all thier ability every game? Who cares, how can you tell?

Please people, look at a package, not a number.

*end rant*

 

[gopunk]

it's all about standards.

 

[Viper GTS]

Numbers make things quantitative, people like that. It's something that can easily be expressed in terms of < & >, = & !=.

Viper GTS

 

[StageLeft]

If 9 is more than 7, how do you know that 20 is less than "heal"?

 

[fatalbert]

numbers are helpful. it provides people with what they view as an absolute, even if that isn't necessarily the case

 

[Heisenberg]

Numbers provide an objective, quantitative way to express information. Qualitative descriptions just aren't good enough for a lot of things, especially in science and engineering.