Re:Ketamine lifts rodents' mood only if administered by male...
by felipemnoa on Wednesday November 22, 2017 @01:01PM
(#15758896)
I get it, these are specific definitions within a given field. I looked at the definition of both precision [1] and accurate [2] and each would use the other as a synonym, which made it a bit confusing as to what he was talking about.
[1] pre·ci·sion: noun the quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate.
[2]ac·cu·rate (of information, measurements, statistics, etc.) correct in all details; exact. "accurate information about the illness is essential" synonyms: correct, precise, exact, right, error-free, perfect; More
Re:Ketamine lifts rodents' mood only if administered by male...
by jodoherty on Wednesday November 22, 2017 @05:27PM
(#15761235)
Standard English dictionaries often don't have the precise definitions used in specific fields, which only leads to more confusion for laymen, but any good introductory Chemistry lab textbook should be able to get you up to speed on experimental science definitions.
In common usage, these words mean the same thing, but scientists often give words specific meanings in order to make their research and ideas less ambiguous.
Definitions are even more important in non-scientific fields such as philosophy or math where meaningful reasoning of abstract structures and ideas would be next to impossible without giving them concrete definitions and stating your assumptions.
Remember that definitions are arbitrary, so to understand an author's argument or idea, you must seek out the author's definitions.
Hopefully that clarifies some of the discussion going on in the comments here.