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For those who were annoyed by the inconsistent units in the story: "International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation reporting about 7000 tonnes of crude oil s

For those who were annoyed by the inconsistent units in the story: "International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation reporting about 7000 tonnes of crude oil spilling from tankers into oceans in 2017 alone." ".. explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig on 20 April 2010 and subsequent release of approximately 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico." According to this site (https://www.reference.com/science/much-barrel-oil-weigh-b29eeb18d34510ef https://www.reference.com/science/much-barrel-oil-weigh-b29e...) "In order to get a metric tonne of oil, one would need about 7.33 barrels of oil." 7000 tonnes ~ 51,310 barrels 4.9 million barrels ~ 668,485 tonnes

hengheng 8y ago
Sometimes I wonder how numbers are regarded in journalism. From the outside it looks as if there was some cult around reproducing the exact string that the source uttered, but with no understanding.
- gldnspud 8y ago
  Having been quoted in a newspaper article once, I can attest that journalists don't always care about precision when reproducing utterances.
  - iovrthoughtthis 8y ago
    Let's put journalists interview quotes on the blockchain! Then they can't be faked and everyone can ensure they are real! /s
- gregknicholson 8y ago
  False precision annoys me. For example, an article might say someone travelled 1243 miles — very precise and authoritative journalism there. Of course, they were actually told they travelled 2000 km, clearly an approximation.
- rangibaby 8y ago
  Length: Football fields Capacity: Olympic-sized swimming pools
- reacweb 8y ago
  In France, I have noticed that journalists often say they were very weak in mathematics. Probably there is some kind of education effect that drives smart people weak in mathematics toward journalism. People opinion is very much influenced by journalists and I wonder if this selection bias is the cause of the bad image of mathematics (difficult, disconnected from the real world, ...).
- lostlogin 8y ago
  Usually the exact string but with a conversion to Olympic swimming pools, London busses, Empire State buildings or other helpful units.

hengheng 8y ago

Sometimes I wonder how numbers are regarded in journalism. From the outside it looks as if there was some cult around reproducing the exact string that the source uttered, but with no understanding.

gldnspud 8y ago
Having been quoted in a newspaper article once, I can attest that journalists don't always care about precision when reproducing utterances.
- iovrthoughtthis 8y ago
  Let's put journalists interview quotes on the blockchain! Then they can't be faked and everyone can ensure they are real! /s
gregknicholson 8y ago
False precision annoys me. For example, an article might say someone travelled 1243 miles — very precise and authoritative journalism there. Of course, they were actually told they travelled 2000 km, clearly an approximation.
rangibaby 8y ago
Length: Football fields Capacity: Olympic-sized swimming pools
reacweb 8y ago
In France, I have noticed that journalists often say they were very weak in mathematics. Probably there is some kind of education effect that drives smart people weak in mathematics toward journalism. People opinion is very much influenced by journalists and I wonder if this selection bias is the cause of the bad image of mathematics (difficult, disconnected from the real world, ...).
lostlogin 8y ago
Usually the exact string but with a conversion to Olympic swimming pools, London busses, Empire State buildings or other helpful units.