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Comment by root_axis | Hacker News Reader

I guess I'm being pedantic, but as a percentage of a whole, isn't 2% not a rounding error by definition?

This level of pedantry is one of the things I appreciate about HN

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That was a verytrivial correction.

"very trivial"

The parent username is verytrivial, so I think we can accept the humour and let it go without splitting, don't you agree?

What makes you think that my comment wasn't humorous?

Probably subjectivity.

I was just pushing the pedantry forward ;)

Thanks. I could tell it was a joke but didn't get it.

It is if you're rounding to the nearest 5%.

With the same logic you could say that covid was a rounding error. Human lives are more valuable then satellites though

Lets at least try to keep this offtopic, inflamatory subject at bay. Please?

Depends who you ask. The insurance company would reimburse your family, for your death, for rather less than the replacement cost of the bird.

I guess also pedantic but say 50.4 rounding to 50 is a 2% change hence it can be a rounding error.

Wouldn't 51 rounded to 50 be a 2% change?

No, that would be a 1.96% change.

Sounds like a rounding error.

Well done Jerry, well done.

So you're saying that my 2% was actually 2% wrong?

Oh yeah bad math 20.4 to 20 is 2%.

Depends on the order of magnitude you're working with.

Someone driving a venture, that is trying to become profitable will disagree.

it’s a fraction …. as long as we are using whole numbers

Those satellites are small but not infinitesimally small. So yeah, I'd say them going down in whole number units is a safe bet.