Round numbers are always false.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Exact numbers are often estimates or approximations rather than precise truths.
- In plain terms
- Rounded figures hide the real details.
- What can you take from it?
- Seek exact data when precision matters.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When is approximation acceptable?
- How much detail is too much?
Another view
Sometimes rounding is necessary for clarity.
More from Samuel Johnson
What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.
Permalink to quote #25 I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.
Permalink to quote #27 Fly fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the…
Permalink to quote #24
Related quotes
Hit the nail on the head.
John FletcherJohn Fletcher quote #14 There is something to be said for every error; but, whatever may be said for it, the most important thing to be said about it is that it is erroneous.
Gilbert Keith ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton quote #40 Accuracy is the twin brother of honesty; inaccuracy, of dishonesty.
Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne quote #65