In
numerical mathematics
Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of numerical methods th ...
, artificial precision is a source of error that occurs when a numerical value or semantic is expressed with more
precision than was initially provided from measurement or user input.
For example, a person enters their birthday as the date 1984-01-01 but it is stored in a database as 1984-01-01T00:00:00Z which introduces the artificial precision of the hour, minute, and second they were born, and may even affect the date, depending on the user's actual place of birth. This is also an example of
false precision, which is artificial precision specifically of numerical quantities or measures.
See also
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false precision
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accuracy and precision
Accuracy and precision are two measures of ''observational error''.
''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their ''true value''.
''Precision'' is how close the measurements are to each other.
The ...
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significant figures
Significant figures, also referred to as significant digits, are specific digits within a number that is written in positional notation that carry both reliability and necessity in conveying a particular quantity. When presenting the outcom ...
References
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Computational statistics
Numerical analysis
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