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To: rjbemsha

I dont know how they can measure accurately to .6 of a degree from tree rings

It is a thing called “significant figures” and it is one of the first things you learn in college science

The concept is simple, you cannot be more accurate than your measuring device.

If all I have is a blank yardstick (with no inches marked on it), the best I give you is measurments in fractions of a yard (and you are never 100% certain about that fraction, you can only eyeball a half a yard or a third, but how about an eighth? or 3/16’s of a yard?)

You can not accurately say you have 3 yards and 14 inches.

Now if your yardstick is marked WITH inches, then you can accurately say something is 3 yards and 14 inches - you can even say 3 yards and 14 and a half inches, but not much more accurately than that. (you could not give thousandths of an inch accuracy, using only this yardstick)

So...

How do these scientists get the nerve to tell us things are ‘0.6’ degrees different than thousands of years ago?

Using tree rings as a measuring device?

That is why ALL THIS CLIMATE TALK is BULL$H!T~!


3 posted on 07/11/2012 6:18:29 AM PDT by Mr. K (OBAMA MUST BE STOPPED ROMNEY/GINGRICH)
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To: Mr. K

I think that the widespread use of computers to do number crunching has contributed to the problem with observing the significant digit rules. Actually it probably started with hand calculators.

My college professors in the late-70’s would beat us up over this, but I suspect that everybody falls prey to the use of over-precise answers.


8 posted on 07/11/2012 6:27:23 AM PDT by Tallguy (It's all 'Fun and Games' until somebody loses an eye!)
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