Why does understanding the uncertainty of a measurement matter? A particularly egregious example would be filling up your 15-gallon gasoline tank with the meter (and subsequently the price) reading 42 gallons. This example would be sure to catch the attention (and incite the anger) of the consumer quickly. However, in other more critical situations, such as ensuring the shutdown of a nuclear reactor during a seismic event, vibration measurement levels need not only report values close to the actual physical event, but the uncertainty of vibration measurement should be known...

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