Estimation

1. Intro

When you are quantifying something, what's the difference between general knowledge, a guess, and an estimate?     Discussion. II.

• Often we might want an answer to a numerical question
  - how accurate do we need to be?

• Sometimes we can look up the answer, but often questions are less tangible, and have an unattainable exact answer.

• Whether it's to win a jar of sweets, or to buy decorating materials, or to see through a dubious headline, it's important to be able to estimate with reasonable accuracy and confidence.

Sometimes it is dangerous to trust calculators and computers for these things.
They are good at arithmetic, but don't _understand_.
You can use the greater sophistication of your brain to sanity check.

Discuss: What is the difference in the way a PC `thinks' to the way you think?

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