<s>
False	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
(	O
also	O
called	O
overprecision	B-Algorithm
,	O
fake	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
,	O
misplaced	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
and	O
spurious	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
)	O
occurs	O
when	O
numerical	O
data	O
are	O
presented	O
in	O
a	O
manner	O
that	O
implies	O
better	O
precision	B-Architecture
than	O
is	O
justified	O
;	O
since	O
precision	B-Architecture
is	O
a	O
limit	O
to	O
accuracy	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
ISO	O
definition	O
of	O
accuracy	O
)	O
,	O
this	O
often	O
leads	O
to	O
overconfidence	O
in	O
the	O
accuracy	O
,	O
named	O
precision	B-Architecture
bias	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Madsen	O
Pirie	O
defines	O
the	O
term	O
"	O
false	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
"	O
in	O
a	O
more	O
general	O
way	O
:	O
when	O
exact	O
numbers	O
are	O
used	O
for	O
notions	O
that	O
cannot	O
be	O
expressed	O
in	O
exact	O
terms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
false	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
is	O
abused	O
to	O
produce	O
an	O
unwarranted	O
confidence	O
in	O
the	O
claim	O
:	O
"	O
our	O
mouthwash	O
is	O
twice	O
as	O
good	O
as	O
our	O
competitor	O
's	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
science	O
and	O
engineering	O
,	O
convention	O
dictates	O
that	O
unless	O
a	O
margin	O
of	O
error	O
is	O
explicitly	O
stated	O
,	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
significant	B-Architecture
figures	I-Architecture
used	O
in	O
the	O
presentation	O
of	O
data	O
should	O
be	O
limited	O
to	O
what	O
is	O
warranted	O
by	O
the	O
precision	B-Architecture
of	O
those	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
outside	O
these	O
disciplines	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
tendency	O
to	O
assume	O
that	O
all	O
the	O
non-zero	O
digits	O
of	O
a	O
number	O
are	O
meaningful	O
;	O
thus	O
,	O
providing	O
excessive	O
figures	O
may	O
lead	O
the	O
viewer	O
to	O
expect	O
better	O
precision	B-Architecture
than	O
exists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
contrast	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
good	O
practice	O
to	O
retain	O
more	O
significant	B-Architecture
figures	I-Architecture
than	O
this	O
in	O
the	O
intermediate	O
stages	O
of	O
a	O
calculation	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
avoid	O
accumulated	O
rounding	B-Algorithm
errors	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
False	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
commonly	O
arises	O
when	O
high-precision	O
and	O
low-precision	O
data	O
are	O
combined	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
conversion	O
of	O
units	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
False	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
is	O
the	O
gist	O
of	O
numerous	O
variations	O
of	O
a	O
joke	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
summarized	O
as	O
follows	O
:	O
A	O
tour	O
guide	O
at	O
a	O
museum	O
says	O
a	O
dinosaur	O
skeleton	O
is	O
100,000,005	O
years	O
old	O
,	O
because	O
an	O
expert	O
told	O
him	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
100	O
million	O
years	O
old	O
when	O
he	O
started	O
working	O
there	O
5	O
years	O
ago	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Measures	O
that	O
rely	O
on	O
statistical	O
sampling	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
IQ	O
tests	O
,	O
are	O
often	O
reported	O
with	O
false	B-Algorithm
precision	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
