daniel added a comment.

@Mike_Peel Thanks for the links! Especially M3003 looks like a very useful 
reference.

In https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T105623#1660493, @Mike_Peel wrote:

> In https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T105623#1660386, @daniel wrote:
>
> > - it's nearly always wrong to assume absolute precision (+/-0) per default 
> > (notable exceptions are definitions and exact counts).
>
>
> I don't think anyone was suggesting that. Using a default of 0 in the 
> database would be one way of recording that the uncertainty is unknown, not 
> assuming absolute precision.


We still need a way to specify absolute precision when applicable. For 
instance, a foot is //exactly// 0,3048m, because it is defined to be so. The 
speed of light is //exactly// 299792458m/s, because that's how the meter is 
defined.

> > - should we should the uncertainty interval per default if it is different 
> > from the one we would have guessed?

> 

> 

> I think these got mangled?


That's the sentence as I intended to write it... I'll try to rephrase:

We could omit the uncertainty from output if it is exactly what is implied by 
the decimal notation, using the applicable convention about significant digits. 
For example, if our algorithm would produce +/-0.5 for the input "3m", then 
3m+/-0.5 would be written as simply 3m (because the stored uncertainty is equal 
to the uncertainty implied by the number as written). This may be a viable 
option to un-clutter the user visible output if we decide to always store the 
uncertainty interval explicitly, as we do now.


TASK DETAIL
  https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T105623

EMAIL PREFERENCES
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To: daniel
Cc: Mike_Peel, Jc3s5h, thiemowmde, kaldari, daniel, Stryn, Lydia_Pintscher, 
Liuxinyu970226, Snipre, Event, Ash_Crow, mgrabovsky, Micru, Denny, He7d3r, 
Bene, Wikidata-bugs, Ricordisamoa, Kelson, MSGJ, Klortho, Wolfvoll, Aklapper, 
aude



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