Re: [NTLK] Exact Measurement of Newton 2000 Screen

On Sat, Apr 26, 2008 at 3:25 PM, G. Isten <gisela@tariffenet.it> wrote:

> >Also, I forgot to add that I am not sure of my caliper's
> >accuracy--precision, yes, but accuracy, no. I would hope that somebody
> >could verify.
>
> Mmm... Jon, would you be willing to elaborate on the difference between 'precision' and 'accuracy'? Would you say that 'accuracy' was a function of the user?

Precision has to do with how "precise" or exact your measurement is.
My calipers measure to .05 millimeter. However, it may not measure
correctly or accurately. One can be precise, but be wrong. Because I
say that the screen measures 87.7mm, while it may be precise, it may
not be accurate.

Another way of saying it would be to think of a target. A bull's eye
does not mean you hit the exact center of the target--just within
certain parameters. But more so, one can be precise in his arrows and
hit a full group within a circle of 3cm, yet miss the bull's eye
entirely. Such an archer was precise, but not accurate. ;-) We tend to
be more "loose" on precision in imperial measurements, I suspect. For
instance, you can say that I am 6 feet tall, but I am more like 6
feet, 2 inches, but more precisely, 6 feet 1 3/4 inches, but even more
precisely, 6ft, 1 5/8in. With metric, the jumps tend to be a bit
bigger, 2 meters, or 188cm or 1883mm. As far as each measurement goes,
they are _all_ accurate, but not as precise.

HTH. ;-)

-- 
 -Jon Glass
Krakow, Poland
<jonglass@usa.net>
"I don't believe in philosophies. I believe in fundamentals." --Jack Nicklaus
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