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Does "5 times cheaper" even mean 1/5th of the price? To me, 5 times cheaper implies the starting point is not price of the thing being compared to. "5 times ch
by sixothree 9y ago
Does "5 times cheaper" even mean 1/5th of the price?
To me, 5 times cheaper implies the starting point is not price of the thing being compared to. "5 times cheaper" sounds like it could be 80% of the price of normal methods.
Method A: $1005
Method B: $1000
Method C: $975
Method C seems to be 5 times cheaper than Method B.
- Orou 9y agoYou're confusing cost with savings. Method C provides 5x greater savings on the cost when compared to Method B. It does not mean that the actual cost is 5x less.
- sixothree 9y agoI'm confusing it (on purpose in this case) because the usage is confusing.
- adrianmonk 9y agoIf someone said, "That trip is 20 hours of driving, but we could get there 5 times faster if we fly," then what would you think they mean? I would think 4 hours. Yes, the language "five times cheaper" is imprecise, but common sense says they probably mean the simple interpretation. In fact, because they aren't speaking precisely, it isn't reasonable to apply some kind of super technical methodology to interpret what they're saying.
- h1boo 9y agoLast quarter we went from $1000 profit to $1001. This quarter the profits were $1003. "Our profits grew 200% compared to last quarter, stocks are through the roof this morning". Is there some phrase in stats used to describe this nonsense?
- nsxwolf 9y agoRelative vs. absolute gain?