Do data on a spreadsheet or in a chart graph true because it's been created using a computer?

Answer 1

Not necessarily. Computers are just tools used by people. If we don't put in the correct information or tell it what we want to do properly, then there may be errors. If you want a computer to add two numbers but accidentally tell it to multiply them, it will multiply them and give you the answer, as that is what it was told to do. It doesn't know that you meant to tell it to add them. If you don't even notice you've done that, then you or whoever sees the final figures may think they are right and not realise there is an error. So it is more important for the users of computers to be careful in how they do things. If you do things correctly, then the results you get should be correct. It is important to always check that the results are correct, so you can find mistakes you've made and fix them. That way, the next time the computer does the calculation it will do it the way you want it.

Computers will do what you tell them to do, but not always what you want them to do, so you have to make sure what you tell them is what you want. So if you want it to add two numbers for you then make sure you have told it to add two numbers and not told it to multiply them or subtract them or divide them, because it will do what you tell it. Most errors in computers are in fact human errors, because people have given the wrong instructions.