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From: occam <occam@nowhere.nix>
Newsgroups: sci.lang,alt.usage.english
Subject: Re: OT: Converting miles/km
Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2024 07:51:30 +0200
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On 20/09/2024 01:12, Christian Weisgerber wrote:
> I'm sorry, I don't know where to post this.  I'm crossposting to
> alt.usage.english, because statute miles as a unit mostly afflict
> the English-speaking world.
> 
> So you want to convert between miles and kilometers.  The conversion
> factor is... uh...  A 40-year-old calculator book provides a useful
> tip:  Unless you're designing a space probe, you can use ln(5).
> 
> WHAT?
> 
> Yes, the natural logrithm of 5 approximates the conversion factor
> between miles and kilometers; specifically one mile is about ln(5)
> kilometers.  It's accurate to four digits.
> 
> If nothing else, it's faster to type on a calculator.
> 
> I think that's hysterical.
> 

You do use Google search?  Try typing '1 mile = ? kilometers' in the
google search bar.  Answer = 1.60934.

P.S. The google search bar has come a long way. It can be the source of
a lot simple-ish maths solutions, thanks to rudimentary AI.