this post was submitted on 24 Apr 2026
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What I'll defend, however, is fractional measurements when precision matters.
With decimal measurements, precision can't be nearly as granular. If your measurement is precise to one 1/8 of a unit, how do you represent that in decimal? 0.625 implies your measurement is precise to the nearest thousandth, but rounding it to 1 also isn't precise. 5/8, however, tells you the measurement AND the precision.
With fractional measurements, you can specify precision by changing the denominator to any number, whereas decimal is essentially fractional measurements, but with fixed denominator at powers of 10. For instance, a measurements of a half-unit with levels of precision between 0.1 and 0.10, fractional can be 6/12, 7/14, 8/16, 9/18, 10/20, 24/48, etc. Decimal can't specify that precision without essentially writing a sentance.
What's simpler to record? "24/48" or "0.5 +- 0.208333...."
That does make sense when you need absolute precision like when doing abstract math. Otherwise you can just use whichever unit and number of significant digits you need and be precise to that amount. That's what you do with imperial/American customary units as well; a 5/32" screw isn't going to be manufactured to the precision of a Planck length; manufacturers specify their sizes to three significant digits of an inch.
Let's say you have a machining project and your tools are precise to 0.1 mm. So you plan things out at a precision of 0.1 mm. It doesn't matter that a distance is 17/38 cm exactly. It doesn't matter that it's 4.473684210526315789... mm. You can't set the tool to anything better than 4.5 mm anyway.
Also note that the metric system doesn't prevent you from using fractions. You're perfectly free to work with fractions where useful. That's just not how people talk about lengths because those fractions have no meaning outside your specific use case.
But that 5/32 screw has its precision built into the measurement. Sig figs and error ranges aren't required for fractional, because both are built into the denominator.
If your 5/32 measurement is super precise you can record it as 160/1024ths, because the denominator has "+/- 1/2048" built into the measurement.
As I said in another (larger) comment, you just don't know how precision is encoded in decimals, which doesn't mean that it isn't. In fact, precision is encoded in decimals, just like with fractions.
0,7 is 0,7 ± 0,05 0,7000 is 0,7 ± 0,00005
I have a set of precision digital calipers that shows decimal or fractional units. Verus a worse set of calipers that'snot 10x worse, it shows exactly the same measurements in decimal units, but with fractional units it will show a difference because that difference can be represented.
Is there anyone in this world needs a caliper of precision between 1cm and 1mm that can't afford a 1mm of precision caliper?
No, but between 0.1mm and 0.10mm is absolutely a thing.
And that is shown by the markings.
I just looked one up, it's less than 20€, 0,02mm of precision. There are just 4 markings between 1mm and the next.
So instead of 9 markings, each marking adding 0,01mm, you just add 0,02mm. Doesn't sound complicated at all.
I haven't found an analog one, but a digital one with 0,01mm of precision costs 30€. Maybe an analog one costs 50€.
So if adding 0,02 is too complicated, you can just buy a 0,01 one for 30€ more. Which is the price of a pizza for a tool that will last years.
Anything more precise than 0,01. You probably have a lot of experience using a caliper. Whatever method it uses to display that precision is gonna be second nature.
Yes, but by recording your measurements as being precise to the neareat 1/5th you're saying they're precise to the nearest 1/10 if you record it with decimals unless you add a qualifying statement.