Category: cognition
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Answering via a scale to improve estimation accuracy
The human brain differs from the brain of other animals in having two number processing systems: 1) the approximate number system (present in other animals), and 2) language. Round numbers are often given in answers when using language, to questions having a numeric answer. While use of round numbers may be conversationally appropriate, they decrease…
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Identifier names chosen to hold the same information
Identifier naming is a contentious issue dominated by opinions and existing habits, with almost no experimental evidence (rather like software engineering practices in general). One study found that around 40% of all non-white-space characters in the visible source of C programs are identifiers (comments representing 31% of the characters in the .c files), representing 29%…