4 ms·

I'm really not clear what you're asking, so all I can say is that nice round numbers are usually a ballpark estimate, while more precise figures suggest some ac

I'm really not clear what you're asking, so all I can say is that nice round numbers are usually a ballpark estimate, while more precise figures suggest some actual calculations were involved. To be a bit technical: if there's only 1 significant figure, then you should take the number with a fair amount of salt. Unfortunately social rules like this usually aren't well documented. It's mostly a statistics thing: very few calculations produce an exactly even result, so more often than not someone has rounded things off. If you want to get really fancy you can start using context and tone to further infer whether someone is throwing out a ballpark estimate or a precise number, but that's well beyond the scope of a HN comment

nobody9999 4y ago
>that's well beyond the scope of a HN comment Exactly my point. And even if I wanted to, there's wasn't any tone or context to draw on -- just a flat assertion. I'd add that, at least to me, a "ballpark" figure would be something reasonably close to an actual value e.g., $25 ballpark vs. $27.99. In the case to which I replied, it was more like "ballpark" $25, actual $9.99. Which "ain't the same fuckin' ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same fuckin' sport."[0] [0] with apologies to Quentin Tarantino. Edit: Added an additional thought and some context.