People often keep it at an abstract level and decide what to do rather than running the actual scenarios and deciding it mathematically. 

Bachelors and Master's in Petroleum Engineering with a minor in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Mathematics.

Mathematically, I don't think it will meet the 1% rule or any of the other "should" parameters. 

My method is mathematically intense. 

But here is my gripe with seasoned RE folks on this message board - as a former mathematics teacher and now VOIP engineer, I can relate to how intimidating a new career or learning new info can be.  

(Take it from a Mathematics degreed, NASA scientist).You can not take a small sample from a larger environment with a specific set of characteristics and group them into one audience and then conclude that BECAUSE of the characteristics you have seleceted you then project that characteristic over the entire group.Duh.. that obviously doeant make sense.Let me translate this into English.You have a bunch of apples. some red, some green some yellow.You take all the red ones away and place them into one group.

If the answer is "NO", then I have MATHEMATICALLY proven you wrong.

Why do we make students take advanced mathematics past basic arithmetic?  

I am confident of my cost estimates because 1) I have taken the time to mathematically calculate expected cap ex 2) I have been doing this for quite a few years. 

It may seem that it would make no mathematical difference whether it's deducted from one property or spread between the two of them, and often it does not.