• sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    39
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    20 days ago

    Maybe I’m wrong but by writing “increase by 80%” there is ambiguity you don’t get if you instead spelled out:

    1. Increase by 80 percent
    2. Increase by 80 percentage points
    • pseudo@jlai.lu
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      20 days ago

      I’m not an expert either and your second option is definitly clearer than mine but I believe the % symbol doesn’t have the meaning of percentage point.

      It is better to make things easier for people to understand but people should also make the effort of properly reading even when it is not fully dumbed down. These are prepositions, so basic english not scientist jargon.

      • Droggelbecher@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        20 days ago

        Im a high school maths teacher and that’s what we’re supposed to teach, % means percent, not percentage points. Maths always tries to have agreed-upon unambiguous definitions of things, precisely to avoid confusion.