[JackFr]

There’s also a technique called “weighing”.

It’s a transformation which, by assuming the items are identical, turns quantity from a discrete value to a continuous one with some loss of precision. In many cases measurement times can be reduced my more than 99%.

[matsemann]

Cut the snark. And if you check the link, the assumption that items are identical is far off.

[JackFr]

Yeah I know. And the use cases of people on a beach, crowded theater, trees in the woods, etc. don't lend themselves to weighing.

Honestly didn't intend to come off as snarky, just clever and amusing. Tough to convey tone -- risk I take I guess. Oh well.

[carlmr]

I think you're not wrong. Even if the pearls aren't identical, if you weigh enough of them at once the central limit theorem will be on your side.

[TchoBeer]

Maybe I misunderstand, but I don't think you meant central limit theorem.

[carlmr]

I did indeed. Your pearls might be heterogenous, but they will probably have an average weight that doesn't change much over time. The central limit theorem makes it possible to estimate quite accurately how much you have of a sum quantity including having a somewhat known accuracy of that estimate, since you get a nice normal distribution with known mean and variance.