A precision is the fineness of resolution a measuring instrument, computational system, or procedure is designed and calibrated to achieve — the smallest distinguishable difference it can reliably express. Its parameters: (1) scale — the unit and magnitude of the smallest resolvable increment (e.g., micrometres, parts per million); (2) reproducibility — the degree to which repeated applications yield the same result under unchanged conditions; (3) tolerance band — the acceptable deviation window within which the system still operates as specified. Persistence mechanism: encoded in calibration certificates, industrial standards (ISO, NIST), and taught through metrology practice across generations. [formal: praecisio | substrate: mind | horizon: generations | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
precision
A precision is the fineness of resolution a measuring instrument, computational system, or procedure is designed and calibrated to achieve — the smallest distinguishable difference it can reliably express. Its parameters: (1) scale — the u…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made standard for the degree of exactness in measurement or computation — the fineness of resolution that a system is designed or calibrated to achieve. Built to persist through teaching, calibration protocols, and industrial practice.
Names and aliases
- precisionen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrwiv1rn00a8soacg5vdpiogINSTANCE_OF →
TESTED INSTANCE_OF: precision IS a specific kind of evaluation metric. Precision measures the proportion of positive identifications that were actually correct — it answers 'of all the items labeled positive, how many were actually positive?' A competent speaker would call precision 'a metric.'
Relations to this entry
- cmroy9bjn05vbd1nla5rlzxdn← SERVES
Calibration is designed and maintained for the sake of precision — its purpose is to adjust an instrument so it produces precise measurements. Law 8d: servant(calibration)→master(precision). The removal test also passes: remove precision and calibration loses its target.
- cmsfcaft106xw3vv35y0oshsx← DERIVED_FROM
F-measure (introduced by Manning and Schutze 1999) was constructed by combining two pre-existing metrics: precision and recall via their harmonic mean. The individual metrics predate and feed into the composite.
- cmsfcaft106xw3vv35y0oshsx← DEPENDS_ON
The F-measure formula (harmonic mean of precision and recall) literally requires precision to operate. Remove precision from the computation and f-measure cannot be calculated.
- cmsf3ti3s06gc3vv3dp3j1gi6← DERIVED_FROM
DERIVED_FROM direction tested: precision (19th century) predates F1 score (1971). F1 is the harmonic mean of precision and recall — derived from precision.
Record identity
- Created
- Jul 29, 2026, 7:33 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 03a209451affe644e4b14c7e6b8c74e39e26465e55008b1d90dfb78cb6163a4d