4 ms·

Using fractions sounds great, I think fractions have a human quality and are a more natural way to approach numbers. In writing, I think putting down 0.5 is sl

Using fractions sounds great, I think fractions have a human quality and are a more natural way to approach numbers. In writing, I think putting down 0.5 is slightly jarring compared to the better ½, at least in non-technical contexts.

klausa 3y ago
I think this is also a case of just being more familiar with something, I find "1/2" or "3/8" much harder to parse than "0.5" or "0.375" (having grown up in the EU).
- cyberbolt23 3y ago
  Totally agree. And how does it work when you measure a thing and it is 1,35 inch do you in the US convert it to fractions? And how then do you find this fraction?
  - Symbiote 3y ago
    A ruler sold in the US (and Britain, on the reverse/bottom) has inch markings with fractions. │.╷.|.╷.│.╷.|.╷.│.╷.|.╷.│.╷.|.╷.│ 0⅛¼⅜½⅝¾⅞1 So the measurement, when taken, is 1⅜". I've seen inch rulers with different fractions, e.g. one end might be eights, the other sixteenths, turn it over and there are tenths. (I don't know how this works with digital measuring devices — I grew up in Britain so have never used inches professionally. Only in Warhammer and TV screens.)
    - ghaff 3y ago
      With digital devices I assume there is a mode switch like in the digital scales I have at home in the US. I actually work in grams for things like bread making which seems easier than a combination of pounds and ounces.
- kzrdude 3y ago
  I think I want my writing to reflect how I talk or think about it. So if the spoken sentence is "specification is a half millimetre" then write with ½ instead of "0.5" because the former will be read out correctly.
  - klausa 3y ago
    But that’s my point! The way you talk or think about it is absolutely influenced by what you’re used to, and what you’ve grown up with. To you, it’s obvious and natural that „half” is 1/2. To me, it looks off and I have to „convert” it in my mind to 0.5, which is the way I think about it.
    - simonklitj 3y ago
      Exactly this. A “half” in my mind translates to 0.5. I don’t do any conversion, 0.5 exists as the very concept of “half” in my brain.
kqr 3y ago
One classic trick to estimate a proportion is to do it as a fraction. It might be hard to tell that someone ate 44 % of a pizza, but significantly easier to judge that they ate a quarter and three quarters of the next quarter (which is 7/16 which is 44 %.) That said, as soon as I need to do any arithmetic on the number (including compare it to other numbers) I convert it from fraction to decimal.

klausa 3y ago

I think this is also a case of just being more familiar with something, I find "1/2" or "3/8" much harder to parse than "0.5" or "0.375" (having grown up in the EU).

cyberbolt23 3y ago
Totally agree. And how does it work when you measure a thing and it is 1,35 inch do you in the US convert it to fractions? And how then do you find this fraction?
- Symbiote 3y ago
  A ruler sold in the US (and Britain, on the reverse/bottom) has inch markings with fractions. │.╷.|.╷.│.╷.|.╷.│.╷.|.╷.│.╷.|.╷.│ 0⅛¼⅜½⅝¾⅞1 So the measurement, when taken, is 1⅜". I've seen inch rulers with different fractions, e.g. one end might be eights, the other sixteenths, turn it over and there are tenths. (I don't know how this works with digital measuring devices — I grew up in Britain so have never used inches professionally. Only in Warhammer and TV screens.)
  - ghaff 3y ago
    With digital devices I assume there is a mode switch like in the digital scales I have at home in the US. I actually work in grams for things like bread making which seems easier than a combination of pounds and ounces.
kzrdude 3y ago
I think I want my writing to reflect how I talk or think about it. So if the spoken sentence is "specification is a half millimetre" then write with ½ instead of "0.5" because the former will be read out correctly.
- klausa 3y ago
  But that’s my point! The way you talk or think about it is absolutely influenced by what you’re used to, and what you’ve grown up with. To you, it’s obvious and natural that „half” is 1/2. To me, it looks off and I have to „convert” it in my mind to 0.5, which is the way I think about it.
  - simonklitj 3y ago
    Exactly this. A “half” in my mind translates to 0.5. I don’t do any conversion, 0.5 exists as the very concept of “half” in my brain.

kqr 3y ago

One classic trick to estimate a proportion is to do it as a fraction. It might be hard to tell that someone ate 44 % of a pizza, but significantly easier to judge that they ate a quarter and three quarters of the next quarter (which is 7/16 which is 44 %.) That said, as soon as I need to do any arithmetic on the number (including compare it to other numbers) I convert it from fraction to decimal.