4 ms·
Having it decrease by 3x is the same as dividing by 3...
by Heliosmaster 7y ago
Having it decrease by 3x is the same as dividing by 3...
- sokoloff 7y agoIf the reference power level was 30W (purely to make the math easy to do), and the “power increased by three times” what would the new power level be? 50W, 90W, or 120W? If 120W, then why is a “decrease by three times” different?
- stonemasonn 7y ago30 * 3 is 90... 30 / 3 is 10.
- sokoloff 7y agoUnambiguously true math. If 30 “increases by three times”, does it become 90 or 120? If 90, what happens if 30 “increases by 1 times”? Does it stay 30 or become 60? If 60, then what does 30 “increases by 2 times mean?” Also 60?
- inimino 7y agoThese things are contextual. "x increases three times" means 3x to most people. This is different from "increases by 300%" which usually means 4x. The article says "by a factor of up to three" in the first sentence but that is too wordy for a headline. > what happens if 30 “increases by 1 times”? Nobody would ever say this. We would say it doubled or stayed the same, or "increased by 100%" perhaps, but never "increased by 1 time". > 30 “increases by 2 times mean?” Nobody would ever say this either.
- stonemasonn 7y agoThis is all rather basic math.
- pvinis 7y agoThat's why I prefer to say "it increased from 30 to 120" and let the reader calculate if they want to. At least the right info is there. :)
- deaps 7y agoThis reminds me of the wording in my son's homework two days ago. So much interpretation involved. I wish they would choose the wording of their questions more closely in those math homeworks (and also in articles). For reference, his homework question was something along the lines of: If the auditorium currently has five rows of ten chars in place, and they need three times more chairs, how many more rows of ten chairs do they need?