4 ms·

Interesting. Six times is in the same order of magnitude, so it’s entirely plausible that a significant number of people would be affect by MSG with its normal

by newen 6y ago

Interesting. Six times is in the same order of magnitude, so it’s entirely plausible that a significant number of people would be affect by MSG with its normal dose. And it’s entirely plausible that some restaurants would put six times the normal dose in some meals, especially fast food restaurants that don’t use standardized measurements like Chinese restaurants.

deleted 6y ago
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thaumasiotes 6y ago
> Six times is in the same order of magnitude I don't think this sentence has any meaning. What is "the same order of magnitude"? By the normal definition (still not great, but at least it's well-defined), 6 times x is only in the same order of magnitude as x when x is in the range [0,1.7), and it's in the next order of magnitude up when x is in [1.7,10). Even if we adjust that to a log scale, 6x is in the same order of magnitude when x is in the interval [0,0.23] and in the next higher order of magnitude when x is in (0.23, 1). This is not a solid foundation for the idea that "six times is in the same order of magnitude", even if we think the sentence is interpretable.
- newen 6y ago
  Give me a break, this is not a math lecture. Less than 10x means the same magnitude is good enough for forum posting. The underlying message that some restaurants might plausibly put 6x the MSG of the standard dose comes across just fine and it doesn’t need to be nitpicked to hell.
- labawi 6y ago
  An order of magnitude is 10x, this is 6x so within an order of magnitude. Specific numbers are meaningless. Calling it same order of magnitude seems an unfortunate (and technically incorrect) phrasing. Still, the point stands - a 6x difference between normally-served dose and a harmful one is way too small to call it non-harmful. How do you even define a normally-served dose? This needs further clarification with better definitions.
  - newen 6y ago
    Thanks for explaining it better. Yeah, within is better wording. And having specific numbers other than 10 for order of magnitude is pretty funny.
  - ceejayoz 6y ago
    > Still, the point stands - a 6x difference between normally-served dose and a harmful one is way too small to call it non-harmful. We happily accept a 1.5-2x margin for Tylenol. If you accidentally put 6x the normal amount of MSG in some fried rice, you’re gonna know about it.

by newen 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

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thaumasiotes 6y ago

> Six times is in the same order of magnitude I don't think this sentence has any meaning. What is "the same order of magnitude"? By the normal definition (still not great, but at least it's well-defined), 6 times x is only in the same order of magnitude as x when x is in the range [0,1.7), and it's in the next order of magnitude up when x is in [1.7,10). Even if we adjust that to a log scale, 6x is in the same order of magnitude when x is in the interval [0,0.23] and in the next higher order of magnitude when x is in (0.23, 1). This is not a solid foundation for the idea that "six times is in the same order of magnitude", even if we think the sentence is interpretable.

newen 6y ago
Give me a break, this is not a math lecture. Less than 10x means the same magnitude is good enough for forum posting. The underlying message that some restaurants might plausibly put 6x the MSG of the standard dose comes across just fine and it doesn’t need to be nitpicked to hell.
labawi 6y ago
An order of magnitude is 10x, this is 6x so within an order of magnitude. Specific numbers are meaningless. Calling it same order of magnitude seems an unfortunate (and technically incorrect) phrasing. Still, the point stands - a 6x difference between normally-served dose and a harmful one is way too small to call it non-harmful. How do you even define a normally-served dose? This needs further clarification with better definitions.
- newen 6y ago
  Thanks for explaining it better. Yeah, within is better wording. And having specific numbers other than 10 for order of magnitude is pretty funny.
- ceejayoz 6y ago
  > Still, the point stands - a 6x difference between normally-served dose and a harmful one is way too small to call it non-harmful. We happily accept a 1.5-2x margin for Tylenol. If you accidentally put 6x the normal amount of MSG in some fried rice, you’re gonna know about it.