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This is the same annoyance when you see somebody say: It cost 10X less if we use 'Y' over 'Z'. My brain always short circuits and says "I think they mean it c

This is the same annoyance when you see somebody say: It cost 10X less if we use 'Y' over 'Z'. My brain always short circuits and says "I think they mean it costs 1/10th...." "There was a 5 times decease in crime..." uggh, just give me the damn numbers. Is crime now at 1/20th the previous level??? I know they are telling us it's less, and I don't even care about the story; but i waste brain power trying to grok what they really mean.

lisper 6y ago
I'm as much of a grammar nazi as anyone, but I think this usage is defensible. 10 is ten times more than 1. So 1 is arguably ten times less than 10. Certainly there are more important things to fret about, like: "Tim went to the store with he and I.' Arrgghh!!!
- recursive 6y ago
  Even "ten times more" isn't exactly clear in my opinion. 100% more is two times. 900% more is ten times. Ten times more is... eleven times? I try to say "{x} is ten times {y}", which is, as far as I can tell is unambiguous. (Mostly, what's ten times colder?)
  - telotortium 6y ago
    "x more than y" means "y + x" - a sum. "x% more than y" means "y + x% = y + y×(x÷100)" and "x% less than y" means "y - x% = y - y×(x÷100)". To me, "x times more than y" means the same as "x times as much as y" only "y×x" and "x times less than y" means "y÷x". I guess this might seem ambiguous if you bracket the expression like "x times (more than) y", but in practice it's bracketed like "x (times more than) y". (Native American English speaker)
- aidenn0 6y ago
  11 is 10 times more than 1. 10 is 10 times as large as 1.
  - telotortium 6y ago
    You'd really say 32 is 3 times more than 8?
    - aidenn0 6y ago
      Well I'd rather say it's 4 times the size of 8, but I certainly don't say that 6 is "75% more than 8" [edit] I also wouldn't say that 6 is "75% less than 8" if your thought is that "more" just indicates a bigger value.
      - telotortium 6y ago
        6 is 25% less than 8 - it's 75% of 8.
        aidenn0 6y ago
        I agree; and similarly 10 is 25% more than 8 and 125% of 8.

lisper 6y ago

I'm as much of a grammar nazi as anyone, but I think this usage is defensible. 10 is ten times more than 1. So 1 is arguably ten times less than 10. Certainly there are more important things to fret about, like: "Tim went to the store with he and I.' Arrgghh!!!

recursive 6y ago
Even "ten times more" isn't exactly clear in my opinion. 100% more is two times. 900% more is ten times. Ten times more is... eleven times? I try to say "{x} is ten times {y}", which is, as far as I can tell is unambiguous. (Mostly, what's ten times colder?)
- telotortium 6y ago
  "x more than y" means "y + x" - a sum. "x% more than y" means "y + x% = y + y×(x÷100)" and "x% less than y" means "y - x% = y - y×(x÷100)". To me, "x times more than y" means the same as "x times as much as y" only "y×x" and "x times less than y" means "y÷x". I guess this might seem ambiguous if you bracket the expression like "x times (more than) y", but in practice it's bracketed like "x (times more than) y". (Native American English speaker)
aidenn0 6y ago
11 is 10 times more than 1. 10 is 10 times as large as 1.
- telotortium 6y ago
  You'd really say 32 is 3 times more than 8?
  - aidenn0 6y ago
    Well I'd rather say it's 4 times the size of 8, but I certainly don't say that 6 is "75% more than 8" [edit] I also wouldn't say that 6 is "75% less than 8" if your thought is that "more" just indicates a bigger value.
    - telotortium 6y ago
      6 is 25% less than 8 - it's 75% of 8.
      - aidenn0 6y ago
        I agree; and similarly 10 is 25% more than 8 and 125% of 8.