Hello mariog

Lamentably, since the advent of the computer, we have become obsessed with numbers. We agonize over the number of decimal places a result should have.

Engineering is an approximation of the real world. No one knows the actual stresses that exist in a component under load. Let me give an example: When computing the hoop stress in a cylinder, we use a simple formula. That is a 'code' stress. The actual stress distribution can only be approximated. The code formulae are based upon many assumptions.

In my early career, I only had a slide rule. There are no decimal points on a slide rule, and the accuracy depended on good eyesight and good judgment. I long for the days when I did all calculations with pen and paper.

This is just my opinion.