One hundred and ten percent..!

[MrGeresHamster]

AIBU that my skin crawls everytime I hear someone say 'one thousand percent', 'one hundred and ten percent' and all other impossible use of mathematical percentages...?

I'm sure people understand it's wrong.

You don't have to be pedantic about everything in life.

YANBU

You cannot have more than 100% effort because total effort is 100%. However if someone had given 10% effort on first attempt and then increased their effort to 50% that would be a 400% increase on the original attempt.

The phrase used by competitors and judges in reality shows only highlights their lack of English vocabulary.

Yes 50% more free is actually 33.3333% free.

You have the original 100% plus the extra 50% of the original free so the total is now 150% and 50% of 150% is a third!

Unless they mean 50% free that the last time they gave some away free. in wich case it could mean anything!

The 11 out of tenners and 110 percenters have now skewed normal rates of measuring service in 'business' (as an apprentice would say). I work in a call centre and part of my job is doing customer satisfaction surveys. If we get 8 or less out of 10 for something the score becomes a 'detractor' and then gets marked down as a complaint. I have tried to point out that to a lot of people 8 out of 10 is brilliant (i am one who thinks 6/10 is good and 5/10 is fine etc).

But they wont have it and we are encouraged to try and talk them up if they say 8 we have to ask 'is that 8 closer to a 9..?' erm no, it's exactly the same distance from a 9 as a 1 is from a 2! Corporate nonsense!!

Yes 50% more free is actually 33.3333% free. - eh?
A third of the whole container is free, yes. But they're still putting 150% of the normal amount in (and supposedly selling it at normal price) so you are getting 50% more for your money.

Taking this pedantic hat off now. It's making my teeth itch

Yeah, but you could look at it the other way, garlic, and say only a third of what you buy is free - which is what matters in the shop if you're trying to decide whether 3 apples on 50% more free is a better deal than loose apples on 2 for 1.

Yes 50% more free is actually 33.3333% free.

i get that :) because ig a bottle of pop is normally 1 litre and they give you 50% extra free than it would equal 1.5 litres and no the 2 litres in the bottle :)

The scary thing imo, LRD, is the amount of people who can't grasp that 50% extra =
One and a half times standard size =
Half as much again free =
Three for the price of two =
Buy two get one free =
33% off =
Price reduced by one third.

On average, 80% of people don't understand percentages

I think lots of people find it really hard. Lots of people seem to get scared of maths and want to do it all by rote learning formulae, and then they don't feel confident enough to apply it to real-life situations. I think it's especially tough since these are really useful skills to know if you are pushed for money, yet it's often people who're most pushed for money who're least well equipped with them.

A not-tiny number of people would see the example I gave and say '50% is half, two for one is twice, it's the same'. Even though they can see it in front of them.

Mind you, I bought two four-packs of beer last week, from the same shop on different days. Both packs cost the same. Both packs had a promotional collar on them and a 'special edition' taller, thinner can. One lot was 500ml cans, the second pack were 680ml cans.

Oooh, was I cross with myself! Mrs Crazy Label-Reader let herself down there!

That sounds as if someone put a label on the wrong set of cans.

Spuddy - "If we get 8 or less out of 10 for something.." that should be 8 or fewer, as you can count the customer satisfaction feedbacks. Hate to be picky, but...

Stabby - another one to go with itching teeth and crawling skin.....

Garlic and LRD

I am sure most people would understand....surely??

Hate to be picky
Liar, liar, pants on fire

Garlic

Except 33% off is not actually the same as getting an extra 50% free because it assumes you will actually use the extra 50% or wanted it in the first place
And if it's fruit/veg it'll probably end up in land fill the next week and therefore is not actually a saving but if it's chocolate you are probably correct

Can I just say i am much more better at maths now

Helloclitty, there was a documentary which gave a bunch of people a shopping list, a supermarket, and instructions to buy the best deals. Hardly any of them understood the price promotions (the youngest were the most gullible). I've been searching for it, but can't find it right now - sorry. The closes I found is Sophie Raworth's Panorama on "maths test" shopping.

hello - well, depends how you define 'most', doesn't it?!

Softly

Actually when I have 2 toddlers in tow I probably wouldn't be able to understand the most basic of deals

Pan, they may be allowed to record 7.5 or 2.662 so it should be less imo :)

ugh i was annoyed to hear a nasa guy say on a scale of 1 to 10 its a 20.

Stealth - umm..no, it is still something that is being counted, including in fractions - so it should still be fewer?

< have been banned from my local Tesco for standing on a step ladder with a spray can and correcting the "10 items or less" sign over the self-service tills..>

Not percentages, but people refering to babies/children over the age of one, in months gets my goat. "my son is 36 months"....no he is 3! Or "18 months" ..no 1 and a half..."26" months...they are 2!!!

my son is 36 months".

This drives me insane my baby is 27 months oh so your baby is 2 then months for children shouldn't imo be used after 18 months ,