Using percentages incorrectly

Using percentages incorrectly

Author
Discussion

MagicMike

Original Poster:

234 posts

119 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
One of my pet hates is the inaccurate use of percentages by people, examples being:

1) When making a decision the term " I'm x% sure that I will or will not"

2) Or just as bad "I'm 105% sure or unsure"

How the censored have they calculated it to that exact percentage?

zcacogp

11,239 posts

243 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Because they are fuktards who don't know anything about language.

Much the same as people who say "I'm 200% committed to this" (or similar.)


Oli.

Carthage

4,261 posts

143 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
I worked for an HEI, and my boss decided that we should not feel limited to100% when marking student work; a particularly good assignment could be worth 120 or 130%.

Luckily, the MIS systems wouldn't accept this...so I didn't have to kill him.

R6VED

1,365 posts

139 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
64.3% of statistics are made up on the spot.

Hackney

6,811 posts

207 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
MagicMike said:
One of my pet hates is the inaccurate use of percentages by people, examples being:

1) When making a decision the term " I'm x% sure that I will or will not"

2) Or just as bad "I'm 105% sure or unsure"

How the censored have they calculated it to that exact percentage?
But it's a figure of speach rather than an accurate measure of.... well, anything.
This, however:
Carthage said:
I worked for an HEI, and my boss decided that we should not feel limited to100% when marking student work; a particularly good assignment could be worth 120 or 130%.

Luckily, the MIS systems wouldn't accept this...so I didn't have to kill him.
Is just mental.

amancalledrob

1,248 posts

133 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
My thread has arrived

I work in private medical insurance. No claims discounts are a nightmare - eg member has 50% NCD. Makes claim. NCD goes down to 35%. Member's premium was £100 and now it's £130, member wants to know why their premium appears to have increased 30%. Well, it hasn't. It's gone up 15%.

Try explaining that to a militant 65yo housewife.

Boils my piss. Grinds my gears. All manner of other PH-specific clichés too

98elise

26,376 posts

160 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
amancalledrob said:
My thread has arrived

I work in private medical insurance. No claims discounts are a nightmare - eg member has 50% NCD. Makes claim. NCD goes down to 35%. Member's premium was £100 and now it's £130, member wants to know why their premium appears to have increased 30%. Well, it hasn't. It's gone up 15%.

Try explaining that to a militant 65yo housewife.

Boils my piss. Grinds my gears. All manner of other PH-specific clichés too
How has it only gone up 15%?

Butter Face

30,192 posts

159 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
98elise said:
amancalledrob said:
My thread has arrived

I work in private medical insurance. No claims discounts are a nightmare - eg member has 50% NCD. Makes claim. NCD goes down to 35%. Member's premium was £100 and now it's £130, member wants to know why their premium appears to have increased 30%. Well, it hasn't. It's gone up 15%.

Try explaining that to a militant 65yo housewife.

Boils my piss. Grinds my gears. All manner of other PH-specific clichés too
How has it only gone up 15%?
I thought the same rofl

Chris Type R

8,018 posts

248 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
98elise said:
How has it only gone up 15%?
+1

EDIT: Strictly speaking, their premium has remained the same, and their discount has reduced.

0000

13,812 posts

190 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
It's not gone "up 15%", it's gone up by an amount that is 15% of the undiscounted £200 premium.

98elise

26,376 posts

160 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
0000 said:
It's not gone "up 15%", it's gone up by an amount that is 15% of the undiscounted £200 premium.
Agreed, but the net effect is a 30% rise in the premium paid.

krisdelta

4,566 posts

200 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
98elise said:
0000 said:
It's not gone "up 15%", it's gone up by an amount that is 15% of the undiscounted £200 premium.
Agreed, but the net effect is a 30% rise in the premium paid.
Including IPT? wink

MagicMike

Original Poster:

234 posts

119 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
^^^^^^See what I mean about percentages!

amancalledrob

1,248 posts

133 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
Thanks chaps for an excellent demonstration of the problem I face on a daily basis hehe

Kawasicki

13,041 posts

234 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
some threads still make me laugh.

brianmorrison

50 posts

130 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
It's the hair ads. 74% of 135 people love our product....

amancalledrob

1,248 posts

133 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
brianmorrison said:
It's the hair ads. 74% of 135 people love our product....
I love those. I amuse myself (and annoy my girlfriend) by working out how many respondents just didn't think it was any good at all

Hackney

6,811 posts

207 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
brianmorrison said:
It's the hair ads. 74% of 135 people love our product....
Always amazes me that these aren't 100% given that their sample is.... the girls who work in marketing for [insert advertised brand]

Fotic

719 posts

128 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
brianmorrison said:
It's the hair ads. 74% of 135 people love our product....
They are obliged to tell you how many people completed the trial. The reason it's often an odd number is that it's only people who have COMPLETED the trial.

Example:

'Shampoo for dry hair: 82% of 131 women agreed it worked.' Sounds good right?

What if 300 women entered the trial and half way through, 169 of them thought 'this isn't working, I'll not bother completing the course' - well then that's how the headline result has been calculated.

Spare tyre

9,458 posts

129 months

Friday 1st August 2014
quotequote all
im half a bakers dozen % sure non of you know what you are talking about half of the time