A rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. It is an easily learned and easily applied procedure for approximately calculating or recalling some value, or for making some determination. Compare this to heuristic, a similar concept used in mathematical discourse, psychology and computer science, particularly in algorithm design. See also mnemonic.
Contents |
Origin of the phrase
The earliest citation comes from Sir William Hope’s The Compleat Fencing-Master, second edition, 1692, page 157: "What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, and not by art."[1][2] The term is thought to originate with wood workers who used the length of their thumbs rather than rulers for measuring things, cementing its modern use as an imprecise yet reliable and convenient standard.[3]
Caricature condemning Buller: Judge Thumb - Patent Sticks for Family Correction - Warranted Lawful!It is often claimed that the term originally referred to a law that limited the maximum thickness of a stick with which it was permissible for a man to beat his wife, but this has been discredited.[1][3] Although British common law before the reign of Charles II permitted a man to give his wife "moderate correction", no 'rule of thumb' (whether called by this name or not) has ever been the law in England.[4][5] Nonetheless, belief in the existence of such a law can be traced as far back as 1782, the year James Gillray published his satirical cartoon Judge Thumb. The cartoon lambastes Sir Francis Buller, a British judge, for allegedly ruling that a man may legally beat his wife, provided that he used a stick no thicker than his thumb, although it is questionable whether Buller ever made such a pronouncement. In the United States, legal decisions in Mississippi (1824) and North Carolina (1868 and 1874) make reference to—and reject—an unnamed "old doctrine" or "ancient law" by which a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no wider than his thumb.[1] In 1976, feminist Del Martin used the phrase "rule of thumb" to describe such a doctrine, and the usage gained currency in 1982, when the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a report on wife abuse, titled "Under the Rule of Thumb."[5]
Another possible origin of the phrase comes from measurement, particularly in agricultural fields. The plants need a fairly precise depth to seed properly, whether planted from seed or being replanted, but the depth can sometimes be estimated using the thumb. That is, a rule "(measurement) of thumb."[6] According to Gary Martin, "The origin of the phrase remains unknown. It is likely that it refers to one of the numerous ways that thumbs have been used to estimate things - judging the alignment or distance of an object by holding the thumb in one's eye-line, the temperature of brews of beer, measurement of an inch from the joint to the nail to the tip, or across the thumb, etc. The phrase joins the whole nine yards as one that probably derives from some form of measurement but which is unlikely ever to be definitively pinned down."[7]
Examples of usage
Financial - Rule of 72. A rule of thumb for exponential growth at a constant rate. An approximation of the doubling time formula used in population growth, which says divide 70 by the percent growth rate (using continuous compounding, the actual number would be 69.3147181 or 100 times the natural logarithm of 2). In terms of money, since we use the annual effective interest rate (which is equivalent to annual compounding) for interest rates between 4% and 12% the number which gives the most accurate result is actually 72. Therefore, divide 72 by the percent interest rate to determine the approximate amount of time to double your money in an investment. For example, at 8% interest, your money will double in approximately 9 years (72/8 = 9).
Tailors' Rule of Thumb. This is the fictional rule described by Jonathan Swift in his satirical novel Gulliver's Travels:
| “ | Then they measured my right Thumb, and desired no more; for by a mathematical Computation, that twice round the Thumb is once around the Wrist, and so on to the Neck and Waist, and by the help of my old Shirt, which I displayed on the Ground before them for a Pattern, they fitted me exactly.[8] | ” |
Marine Navigation. A ship's captain should navigate to keep the ship more than a thumb's width from the shore, as shown on the nautical chart being used. Thus, with a coarse scale chart, that provides few details of nearshore hazards such as rocks, a thumb's width would represent a great distance, and the ship would be steered far from shore; whereas on a fine scale chart, in which more detail is provided, a ship could be brought closer to shore.[citation needed]
Hazardous Material Emergency Response. Hazardous material (hazmat) emergency responders in the US are trained to various levels of capability for action during a hazmat incident, with names for the capabilities varying by locale. Typically, basic-level responders are trained to be able to recognize various types of hazardous materials and establish an isolation perimeter around the site of the incident. Basic-level responders will observe the rule of thumb for establishing a minimum safe distance from a hazmat site. If the responder is uphill and upwind from the incident, and they are able to visually cover the site with a thumb held at arm's length, they are assumed to be a safe distance away from the event. Of course, this varies greatly depending on the nature of the hazmat incident, and should only be used as a general guideline. More specific information about hazardous material isolation is available in a material's material safety data sheet, or in such documents as the Emergency Response Guidebook, published by Chemtrec in the US. Other countries typically have their own hazmat emergency response resources.
Etiquette. In a formal place setting, the silverware and the dinner plate should be set back from the edge of the table a length equal to the distal phalanx of the thumb.
Brewing. Before the invention of thermometers, the brewer tested the wort by placing his thumb in it. When he could reliably place his thumb in the wort without having to remove it because of the heat, the wort was cool enough to pitch the yeast.
See also
References
- ^ a b c 28env - J.Straton - North Carolina.Violence women
- ^ Safire, William, Uncertain Terms, p. 189
- ^ a b Sommers, Christina (1994), Who Stole Feminism
- ^ Rule of thumb
- ^ a b Straight Dope
- ^ Ancient people often used body parts as pseudo-measurement lacking precise instruments. See cubit.
- ^ www.phrases.org.uk: Rule of Thumb
- ^ Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels - Part I: A VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT - Chapter 6
Further reading
Henry Ansgar Kelly, ‘Rule of Thumb and the Folklaw of the Husband’s Stick’, Journal of Legal Education, 44.3 (September 1994), 341-65.
External links
- Every rule of thumb on earth in one place - A user participation reference project based on Tom Parker's 3 best-selling books and more than 25 years of research.
- A collection of various Rules of Thumb - A wiki based collection of user submitted rules of thumb
- Straight Dope - Discussion of the origins of the term by Cecil Adams.
- Business Rules of Thumb . com - A collection of business-oriented rules of thumb
- Debunker.com - Article debunking the "Rule of Thumb" connection to wife-beating
- European Men Profeminist Network - Faulty legal citations of the bogus wife-beating law.
Categories: Rules of thumb | English phrases
|
72px x 55px | 1.70kB
[source page]
0gold06 thumb jpg 11 May 2006 01 18 4k 0gold rule mess web jpg 17 Aug 2005 12 57 19k 0gold rule mess web > 17 Aug 2005 12 57 2k 0gold rule mess web > 17 Aug 2005 12 57 7k
jrock4411
Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:54:03 GM
Keep in mind that the general . rule of thumb. for number of fish per tank is around 1 fish for every 10 gallons. So in a 50 gallon tank, you are limited to around 5 fish. Saltwater fish are generally very territorial, so it's not only a ...
Q. What is the "rule of thumb" for determining the sample size? Is there sthg like N= no. of variables x 5? Thanks a lot!
Asked by Olivia - Mon Apr 3 12:43:07 2006 - - 4 Answers - 0 Comments
A. As it happens, I just got back from a test on statistics. We covered that very question. Here goes: the sample size is dependent on how confident you want to be about your results. In the following formula, then Z is the confidence level. Use 1.65 for 90% confidence level, 1.96 for 95%, 2,33 for 98% and 2.58 for 99%. You also need to know the standard deviation, which should be given. and the error allowable, for instance 3%, or 5% or such. That number goes into the formula as E. so number n equals = (Z * standard deviation/E)^2
Answered by lyghtningrod - Tue Apr 11 17:24:53 2006
