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MrJones2015 asked this question about How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking:
In the chapter "A Note on the logarithm, and the flogartithm" (page 139) Jordan says: ln(1000)=4, ln(1mn)=7 and ln(1bn)=10. But according to my calculator it is: ln(1000)=6.9, ln(1mn)=13.8 and ln(1bn)=20.7 Whats wrong here?
John Pitts Those are 'flogarithms' or fake logarithms, not natural logarithms. He defines a flogarithm as the number of digits in a number. 1000 has 4 digits, so…moreThose are 'flogarithms' or fake logarithms, not natural logarithms. He defines a flogarithm as the number of digits in a number. 1000 has 4 digits, so its flogarithm is 4. 1 000 000 has 7 digits, so its flogarithm is 7, etc.(less)
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MrJones2015 Well he says they are "flogarithms" because his is not the actual definition of the logarithm. And that they are "close enough to the real thing". The ...more
Jan 26, 2016 10:27AM · flag
M 25x33
John Pitts The actual value of a flogarithm is not meant to be close to the same as that of a natural logarithm, it's just meant to increase in the same (slow) m ...more
Jan 28, 2016 08:49PM · flag
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How Not to Be Wrong
by Jordan Ellenberg
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