Re: RULE OF THUMB
Posted by lewis on April 04, 2005
In Reply to: Re: RULE OF THUMB posted by Fred on April 04, 2005
: : Does anyone know the word which means an equation which isn't scientifically proven but is known through knowledge? i.e like rule of thumb.
: : Thanks for your help : Are you talking about what is known a priori (vs. a posteriori)? isn't 'rule of thumb' a rather poor example? from what I have heard the rule of thumb comes from the old legal principle that it was acceptable to beat your wife with a stick providing that it did not have a diameter larger that your thumb. a 'rule of thumb' is thus a simple principle (usually relating to measurement) easily understood and applied. 'rough approximation' is the expression I would use for a quick calculation that has a fairly well-known application - eg. "pi" being 22/7 might fit that although the mnemonic of the letter numbers in "how(3) I(1) wish(4) I(1) could(5) calculate(9) pi(2)" is pretty handy for 3.141592. 'rules of thumb' arise in particular industries and I can't think of any examples from the real world, but if somebody says - "oh, it's 3 times the height in bags of gympsum and add 20%" you may have spotted one. L
- Re: RULE OF THUMB ESC 04/April/05
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