Re: [Phys-l] sig figs, or not

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 05/02/2011 03:37 PM, Josh Gates wrote:
> For the good of the list, can we confine this tangent to the question
> "what journals/fields require sig figs (or explicit uncertainty"?

Short answer: 

The last time I checked, there was no journal anywhere that
required "sig figs" to the exclusion of an explicit statement
of uncertainty.

I found a couple of journals where the "instructions for authors" 
nominally required "sig figs" but a perusal of the actual published 
articles indicated this requirement was not actually enforced.  
Keep in mind that a lot of people say "sig figs" when all they 
really mean is uncertainty.

Students should at some point have "sig figs" in their reading 
vocabulary, but 
 a) there is no hurry, and 
 b) they should understand that "sig figs" must not be taken literally
  ... in the sense that black-eyed peas are not peas, and buckwheat is 
  not wheat.

Long answer:
  http://www.av8n.com/physics/uncertainty.htm