prePEP: Money data type

[Jegenye 2001 Bt]

Alex Martelli <aleax at aleax.it> wrote in message
news:tbfkb.308733$R32.10140824 at news2.tin.it...
> Jegenye 2001 Bt wrote:
>
> But would you be happy if your bank statement reassured you that
> your balance is "somewhere between 708.97 and 709.12 Euros"...?-)
>
No, I'd be absolutely happy if the bank statement would contain that the
balance is
11101223.43*  and this amount was computed by the publicly known and
standardized error propagation rules, so the bank
assures me the number cannot be less than 11101222.87 and it cannot be more
than 11101223.98 due to rounding numbers according to those rules.

* let's speak of a much nicer sum of money than that if it's about my
hypotetical bank account :-)

I know this is wishful thinking and even the bank employees would be
dazzled. ;(
Once I tried to explain to a gov. official that  it doesn't matter at all if
unemployment is 15.1% or 14.9% in a certain region when he asked what that
$\sigma = 0.1%$
means next to 15% ... You cannot tell the real value only that it's between
those values with such and such probability.  Ok, he understands. But is
unemployment high or low in that region according to law? (Which stated that
regions with enemployment higher than , say, 15% are entitled to certain
funds..)

This world is NOT the best world of all the possible worlds, Mr. Leibnitz.
;)

Cheers,
Miklós

--
PRISZNYÁK  Miklós
---
Jegenye 2001 Bt. ( mailto:jegenye2001 at parkhosting.com )
Egyedi szoftverkészítés, tanácsadás
Custom software development, consulting
http://jegenye2001.parkhosting.com

>
> Alex
>
>
>