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Have the Beeb given up on editors for their website? The first sentence is so unlikely to be true, "a day entirely without violent crime", really? I could perha
by epo 14y ago
Have the Beeb given up on editors for their website? The first sentence is so unlikely to be true, "a day entirely without violent crime", really? I could perhaps accept this if they added the word "reported". But the following statement that "Monday was the most bloodshed-free 24-hour period in recent history" is devoid of meaning, if a spokesman really said this then they should be fired. "Least bloodshed" has meaning, "most bloodshed-free" is simply idiotic. And yes, people who talk about "50% less" when they mean "half as much" are also exposing themselves as people who do not understand what they are saying. Hmmm, more coffee required.
- sopooneo 14y agoI'm with you for the first part, but "50% less" seems to me both clear and strictly equivalent with "half as much". What am I missing?
- Drakim 14y agoIf I have 200 units of fish, and the next day I have 50% less, then I would indeed have 100 units of fish. Maybe he meant the opposite, "50% more" versus "double"? If I had 50% more the next day, I would have 300 units of fish, not 400.
- Retric 14y agoI think it was a comment about Mathematical Illiteracy. Many people have little idea what X% more / less actually means. http://www.amazon.com/Innumeracy-Mathematical-Illiteracy-Its-Consequences/dp/0809058405 http://www.amazon.com/Innumeracy-Mathematical-Illiteracy-Its...