Editing Error (section)

==Science and engineering==
[[File:TrafficSignIsraelError.JPG|thumb|180px|Erroneous traffic sign in [[Israel]]. The correct sign is depicted on the lower-right corner.]]
{{See also|Observational error|Bias (statistics)|Measurement uncertainty}}

In [[statistics]], an [[errors and residuals|''error'' (or ''residual'')]] is not a "mistake" but rather a difference between a computed, estimated, or measured value and the accepted true, specified, or theoretically correct value.

In science and engineering in general, an error is defined as a difference between the desired and actual performance or [[behavior]] of a [[system]] or [[Object (philosophy)|object]]. This definition is the basis of operation for many types of [[control system]]s, in which error is defined as the difference between a set point and the process value. An example of this would be the thermostat in a home heating system – the operation of the heating equipment is controlled by the difference (the error) between the thermostat setting and the sensed air temperature. Another approach is related to considering a scientific hypothesis as true or false, giving birth to two types of errors: [[Type I and type II errors|Type 1 and Type 2]]. The first one is when a true hypothesis is considered false, while the second is the reverse (a false one is considered true).

[[Engineer]]s seek to design [[gadget|devices]], [[machine]]s and [[system]]s and in such a way as to mitigate or preferably avoid the effects of error, whether [[Hanlon's Razor|unintentional or not]]. Such errors in a system can be latent [[design]] errors that may go unnoticed for years, until the right set of circumstances arises that cause them to become active. Other errors in engineered systems can arise due to [[human error]], which includes [[cognitive bias]]. [[Human factors]] engineering is often applied to designs in an attempt to minimize this type of error by making systems more forgiving or [[error-tolerant]].

(In [[computational mechanics]], when solving a system such as ''Ax''&nbsp;=&nbsp;''b'' there is a distinction between the "error" – the inaccuracy in ''x'' – and [[Residual (numerical analysis)|residual]] – the inaccuracy in ''Ax''.)

A notable result of Engineering and Scientific errors that occurred in history is the [[Chernobyl disaster]] of 1986, which caused a nuclear meltdown in the City of [[Chernobyl]] in present-day [[Ukraine]], and is used as a case study in many Engineering/Science research <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.depts.ttu.edu/nsrl/About/research-highlights/chernobyl-summary/index.php|title=Chernobyl Research|publisher=[[Texas Tech University]]|work=Natural Science Research Laboratory}}</ref>