I also received some good lessons in the use of precise terms such as the difference between 2 1/2 and 2.5. I once went to the Toolroom foreman, a God in the motor industry in the 60's, and asked for a strip of steel 0.5 in. wide.
He asked if I really wanted it 0.5 in. wide and I said yes, half an inch. "But you've written 0.5 in.", he said rather scornfully. "Yes, I said, Half an inch" .
Eventually, he patiently explained to me the error of my ways, a lesson I have never forgotten.
My feeble math challenged brain doesn't "get it"
