I suspect that this pet peeve strikes a familiar note for most of us on
this list. I doubt anyone accepts it, but we all see it. Many possible
origins for its ubiquity have been mentioned, most are probably
contributing.
Another that I've not yet seen mentioned is a grading scheme used in
some courses which rewards students for the precision with which they
recovered the "right" answer. Often it's not even explicit, but takes
the form of "calculate the percentage error relative to the textbook
answer."
I try to avoid the use of the word "error," preferring "uncertainty."
That said, I'm no more successful that others who have already responded
in getting students to stop attributing their experimental uncertainties
to human error. It's better with majors, because we can work with them
for several years; harder with chemistry and biology majors who only
take the introductory sequence from us.
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"The wise person doesn't give the right
answers, but poses the right questions."
- Claude Levi-Strauss
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Dr. George Spagna
Chair, Physics Department
Randolph-Macon College
P.O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005-5505