Abstract
The science of metrology characterizes the concept of precision in exceptionally loose and open terms. That is because the details of the concept must be filled in—what I call narrowing of the concept—in ways that are sensitive to the details of a particular measurement or measurement system and its use. Since these details can never be filled in completely, the concept of the actual precision of an instrument system must always retain some of the openness of its general characterization. The idea that there is something that counts as the actual precision of a measurement system must therefore always remain an idealization, a conclusion that would appear to hold very broadly for terms and the concepts they express.
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References
International Standard 5725-l First edition 1994-I 2-15 (ISO). Reference number IS0 5725-l :I 994(E).
International vocabulary of metrology— Basic and general concepts and associated terms (VIM) Document produced by Working Group 2 of the Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM/WG 2).
Teller P. (2004) The law idealization. Philosophy of Science 71: 730–741
van Fraassen B. (2008) Scientific representation paradoxes of perspective. Oxford University press, Oxford
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Teller, P. The concept of measurement-precision. Synthese 190, 189–202 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-012-0141-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-012-0141-8