How much does this apple weigh?
It started with a simple question to my weekly dinner party last Thursday night: what is the best way, using everyday household objects, to measure the weight of an apple as accurately (and repeatably) as possible? The units of measurement are unimportant, so long as they can be easily calibrated against a known standard (grams, etc).
“That’s easy,” said my business consulting friend, Steve. “Just make a website, and ask as many people as possible how much they think it weighs. As the number of participants approaches infinity, the average answer will be closer and closer to dead-on.”
My incredulity was palpable. more »
10/22/2008