13 May
2010
13 May
'10
11:18 a.m.
On Thu, 13 May 2010, Chuck Guzis wrote:
What we really need is a word denoting the base-10
logarithmic scale
of a number. Something could be coined that's akin to "point" ("ten
to the..." is just too verbally cumbersome). A nice short word, like
"burp" would do. So we could talk about a "burp 6" euros or "5
burp
10 Zimbabwean dollars"
It's really a shame that we introduce "scientific notation" so late
in school mathematics as if it's something peculiar to the test tube
and telescope set. I think it should be taught right from the outset
with basic counting. The result might be a better comprehension of
numeric precision (another pet peeve of mine).
40+ years ago, superscripts were rather awkward to do with a typewriter,
so many working scientists started using E (not as appealing as "burp").
6.02 E 23
5 E 10
etc.