By restricting
$MinPrecision = $MaxPrecision = $MaxExtraPrecision = 17
and adding extra precision to any real number
$PreRead = (# /.
s_String /;
StringMatchQ[s, NumberString] &&
Precision@ToExpression@s == MachinePrecision :>
s <> "`17." &);
as long as i have a real number i get the correct results
My question is that are there any side effects by restricting MinPrecision, MaxPrecision, and MaxExtraPrecision to the desired precision?