Thread

1. miffy900 · 1789683723 · focus · HN ↗

   I really wish people would stop saying N times smaller than something when making a comparison; that makes no sense - it's 1/9th (11.11%) the size. You don't get a smaller quantity by multiplying by a number greater than 1.0. You could instead reverse the subjects being compared - "the original model is 9x bigger than this new smaller, efficient model" or some such. That makes sense.

   I keep seeing this being used when people talk about efficiency or performance gains and it's just very unintuitive language.

   1. foobarbecue · 1789698420 · focus · HN ↗

      But we're cutting drug prices 500, 800, 1700%! Numbers nobody thought were possible.

      1. dofm · 1789710522 · focus · HN ↗

         It was hilarious that this is the only time his, er, meta-imaginary-gains intensifier made the statement literally true.

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