cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21049862

The only numbers I will ever spell are one and zero, and only when using them as a pronoun, or for emphasis, respectively.

Is there ever a reason to not to use symbols when dealing with numbers? Why would “fourteen whatevers” ever be preferable to “14 whatevers”. It’s just so much easier to read numbers as symbols, not spelled out.

(Caveat, not including multipliers, like “273 billion”).

  • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    4·
    22 hours ago

    Absolutely, mm > cm all the way. Other than you putting s at the end of mm, we don’t take the Lord’s (metric) name in vain around here.

    I do feel kind of sorry for East Asia though, since their languages seperate at intervals of 10⁴, rather than 10³. The giga and mega prefixes just make no sense there. 1 GW = 10,0000,0000 W and 1 MW = 100,0000.

    Language strikes again

    Not sure, but perhaps they would prefer a prefix of 10-4 rather than mm (10-3).

      • MisterFrog@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        7·
        18 hours ago

        It’s not cursed, it’s just a different way of grouping. Nothing about grouping in multiples of 10³ is a more natural grouping, were just more used to it.

        And I’m pointing out how metric prefixes are actually euro-centric, and that’s annoying for them. But there’s nothing fundamentally worse about breaking digits in groups of 4, rather than 3

        1,000,000,000,000 = 1,0000,0000,0000 (1012) [Meme of black and white muscular arms embracing.]

        Look up the indian system, now that’s actually cursed.

        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_numbering_system