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Significant digits: foundations, myths and utilization.

D A Chambless·J A Broadway
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Abstract

Scientific text books, journal articles, and all types of other sources of scientific information frequently give certain recommendations and/or make statements of presumed fact concerning the issue of significant digits in scientific computation. Most of these "well-known" facts concerning significance in computation are false. This article discusses the folklore of significant digits, debunks the common cliches, illustrates the actual behavior of computational significance in a typical scenario, and makes recommendations concerning these matters.

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BiometryData Interpretation, StatisticalHealth PhysicsHumansMonte Carlo MethodRadiationJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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D A Chambless, J A Broadway. 1995. Significant digits: foundations, myths and utilization.. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004032-199508000-00010

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