Blog
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Scientific Notation and Significant Figures, Without the Jargon
1500 could mean 2, 3 or 4 significant figures, and there is no way to tell from the digits alone. Scientific notation exists specifically to remove that ambiguity — here is how,…
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Why 2.675 Rounds to 2.68 on Paper but 2.67 on a Computer
This is not a rounding bug. It is what happens when a number that looks exact in decimal cannot be stored exactly in binary — and it explains a whole category of…
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The Percentage Mistake Almost Everyone Makes
A 25% rise followed by a 20% fall lands you exactly back where you started — not down 5%. Here is why percentage changes do not cancel the way they feel like…
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Area vs. Volume: Why Doubling a Room Doesn’t Double What You Think
Make every dimension of a shape 20% bigger and the area grows 44%, not 20% — and the volume grows 73%. The gap between linear, area and volume scaling explains a lot…
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What BMI Does and Does Not Tell You
BMI is not wrong — it is answering a narrower question than most people think it is. Here is exactly what it measures, what it cannot see, and which other numbers fill…
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Why a 5% Raise During 3% Inflation Isn’t a 5% Raise
A raise is measured against your old salary. Inflation is measured against prices. Comparing the two numbers directly is the single most common mistake in reading your own payslip.
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Reading Your Own Blood Pressure Numbers Correctly
Blood pressure categories use 'or,' not 'and' — which means the number most people ignore can be the one that actually decides the category. Here is the trap, explained plainly.
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‘Ideal Weight’ Is a Range, Not a Number — Here’s Why
Most ideal-weight calculators hand back a single figure. The honest answer is a range spanning roughly 20 kilograms at an average adult height, and knowing why explains what the number can and…
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How to Read a Loan Amortization Table (and Why Early Payments Feel Unfair)
In the first years of a mortgage, most of every payment goes to interest, not principal. That is not a bad deal — it is how amortized loans are structured, and the…
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The Real Cost of Paying Only the Credit Card Minimum
A minimum payment is calculated to keep a balance from defaulting, not to pay it off. Here is what that actually costs, and the one balance size where the minimum payment fails…