I agree, but the details are off. (Off-Topic)

by Funkmon , Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 03:27 (3490 days ago) @ iconicbanana
edited by Funkmon, Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 03:32

About 10^-5 T is what we're looking at here for the Earth magnetic field, and it is measured to incredible precision (several orders of magnitude beyond this). The field strength varies, but at the surface it stays within one order of magnitude. Therefore, 3 orders of magnitude is definitely incorrect.

However, I not only understand your definition of several (and use it myself), but so, I posit, did almost everyone else here. It was clear you were being deliberately vague since you yourself linked a Wikipedia article containing the information discussed, and were not sure about the uncertainties and accuracy of the numbers mentioned. Hence, you were not wrong.

There is utility in using language broadly understood by the majority, which is why I shall not continue to use "several" to mean two or more, but to start an argument over its use here when the understanding was clear is, in my opinion, silly.

I think we can let this be. We all know that you both know the approximate ratio of the magnetic field strength of Mercury to the magnetic field strength of the Earth. Subtle differences in word usage are fine, and neither are definitive. Indeed, the more than one definition of several is slightly older, though not the most popular current definition. Check the OED.