The case in question was not a case of misplacing the decimal point, but rather of entering too many digits. Having said that, I notice that many US publications fail to include the leading zero if a decimal number is less than one. I seldom see that in the UK.. Maybe that is somethign that should be taught in the US, especially since the US, like the UK uses a dot rather than a comma as a decimal separator.
On the topic of decimal points, I noticed that in may countries the sugar level in blood is measured in mg/dL rather than in mmol/L as is done in the UK. The advantage of using mg/dL is that there are no decimal points - healthy sugar levels are between 70 and 120 mg/dL as opposed to between 4 and 7 mmol/L. Using the mmol/L, one invariably measures the sugar level to one decimal place. Going back to the original question, I believe that it was a case of slap-dash procedures rather than lack of education. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul Trusten, R.Ph." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 5:22 PM Subject: [USMA:37230] the math panel, the metric system, and decimal education > Do people who were born and raised in countries outside the U.S. have a > better mental feel for decimal numeration because they use the metric system > every day? > > If so, then to what extent is the following article in Drug Topics magazine > outlining a problem that is a home-grown U.S. problem, because we don't use > decimal measurement units every day? > > Now, HERE is something the Math Panel should know!!! > > Ten-Fold Errors Can Lead To Tragedy > > http://www.drugtopics.com/drugtopics/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=365727 > > > Paul Trusten, R.Ph. > Public Relations Director > U.S. Metric Association, Inc. > www.metric.org > 3609 Caldera Boulevard, Apt. 122 > Midland TX 79707-2872 USA > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > >
