Unwarranted Precision and Over Reliance

There are two examples in today's The Straits Times that show the silliness of some people.

First example

On Jan 22, Chinese space start-up InterstellOr created a buzz on Chinese social media when it announced plans to send tourists to suborbital space in 2028 – at a cost of 3 million yuan (S$549,000) a ticket (Chinese firms play catch-up in space tourism).

Second example

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said the company’s proposed US$100 billion (S$127 billion) investment in OpenAI was “never a commitment” and that the company would consider any funding rounds “one at a time” (Nvidia chief says proposed plan to invest US$100b in OpenAI ‘never a commitment’).

Did InterstellOr say that the ticket would cost RMB 3,000,000?

Did Jensen Huang say he was thinking about investing $100,000,000,000?

Certainly not.

Clearly, the 3 million yuan and $100 billion were rounded numbers. The reports should simply have stated the S$ equivalent as around S$550,000 and around S$130 billion.

Furthermore, these numbers refer to events in the future, to which the current exchange rates cannot be applied.

The precision to which the S$ equivalent was stated is unwarranted.

It might even have been better if the S$ equivalents were omitted altogether. It's time The Straits Times readers ask themselves what the S$ equivalent of a foreign currency sum is. Then, they will have a rough idea what prevailing exchange rates are.