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> the average American under 35 had 182 percent less student debt What does that mean? If you have a 100% less of something than someone else, you don't have a
by apendleton 10y ago
> the average American under 35 had 182 percent less student debt
What does that mean? If you have a 100% less of something than someone else, you don't have any of it, right? Did colleges owe the average student money in 1995?
- econner 10y agoHah. This is why I hate all comparisons in percentages. You can't have 110% of something. Or the old "give it 110%"... no I can only give 100%. Nothing more.
- Nacraile 10y agoThe error you're pointing out does not exist in general. % just means "per hundred". If I say A is 110% of B, I'm just saying there are 110 A for every 100 B, which is perfectly reasonable in many contexts. Of course it doesn't make sense to say "Give 110 for every 100 you have available", but that's just one particular context. On the other hand, "Give 110 for every 100 you think you have available" makes perfect sense, if you interpret it to imply that people generally underestimate their ability / hold back.
- SilasX 10y agoProbably the rookie error where someone sees X = 3Y and says, "X is 200% more than Y, therefore Y is 200% less than X". (It's an accurate enough approximation at small levels, like when X is 1% more than Y, but becomes misleading around 10% and downright funny over 100%.)