Numeracy and Making an Impression

[CajunCenturion]

Not only do words and how they're used affect the connotation of the message, so do numbers and how they're represented.
Numeracy: The Educational Gift That Keeps on Giving?


--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[SkipVought]

Would this qualify, when Pravda 'reported' in 1980, that the US hocky team finished next to last in the championship game?

Skip,

_{Just traded in my old subtlety...
for a NUANCE!}

 

[SantaMufasa]

...Or this numeracy-related sign that I saw one time as I was driving through a town in Wyoming:
[tt]
,----,
,----------------------------------,
| |
| Welcome to Rock Springs, Wyoming |
| |
| Founded 1870 |
| Population 18708 |
| Altitude 6759 |
| ----- |
| Total 26337 |
| |
`----------------------------------'
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
[/tt]

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[Noway2]

The article reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Figures don't lie, but liars do figure". Have a clear understanding of numbers and their significance, both absolute and relative can be critical. For example, someone says that X is a risk factor that increase your chance of dying from something 10 fold in order to scare you into a desired reaction. This sounds terrible unless you understand that your chances of dying from X are already insignificant to begin with, such as X being an alien space craft crash landing on your house.

 

[kwbMitel]

>>>"Figures don't lie, but liars do figure"

The best example I know of is the recent conversion of Auto Sales from stating Gas Consumption from Distance per Volume to a much more confusing Volume per Fixed Distance.

e.g. 12 Km/litre vs 8.3 litres/100 Km

Most people I know have difficulty with the new method and don't understand how a lower number is now better. The increments are also now much smaller which can be overlooked more easily

if I go from 12km/litre to 15km/litre it is easy to see a 25% increase.

If I go from 8.33 litres/100km to 6.66 litres/km it doesn't seem like as much. (or may even seem worse to some people)


**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[SantaMufasa]

If I go from 8.33 litres/100km to 6.66 litres/km it doesn't seem like as much.

Ummm...that is a rather monumental difference, which actually translates to a difference of 12 km/litre (8.33 litres/100km) to .15 km/litre (6.66 litres/km)...Yeah, that seems about 8000% worse, right? (Or did you mean, 6.66 litres/100 km? <grin>)

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[kwbMitel]

Yeah missed the 100 but I'm sure you knew that.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[DansDadUK]

>> Most people I know have difficulty with the new method

As with most things, there are pros and cons.

Knowing that your petrol consumption is (say) 8.3 litres/100 Km allows a much easier 'quick' calculation of whether or not you have sufficient fuel to make a journey of (say) 200Km.

... although, in the UK, it's complicated by the fact that (whilst most items are bought and sold in metric units) we've not fully converted to metric: we buy petrol in litres, but measure distances in miles, and measure consumption in miles per (UK) gallon.

 

[DansDadUK]

... a UK (imperial) gallon being (as close as makes no difference to most people) 1.2 US liquid gallons.

 

[IPGuru]

In another thread to show how we still don't like metric in the UK I mentioned the cashier in a DIY shop that measured by cable as 1M 3 inches (or similar)

on subject I have often noticed that figures can give different impressions depending of whether presented as percentages or ratios (1 in 5 V 20%) & the media definitely know this when they present a story.


Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows

 

[DansDadUK]

>> ... we still don't like metric in the UK ...

I do.

 

[IPGuru]

I have to say I am in two minds on metric

Beer & Milk are better by the Pint
For travelling I use Miles & MPG.
Large items I will measure in Feet & Inches but will use MM for something small.
However Meters & Bar are definitely the measure of choice when SCUBA diving (especially as a miss calculation could be fatal)


Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows

 

[N1GHTEYES]

For those of you who don't dive, 10m is near enough 1 bar, so doing the sums in your head, even when slightly narced, is fairly straightforward.

Not that you would normally need to - very few people dive without a computer nowadays, but it is nice to retain the capability in case it goes wonky.

Tony

 

[IPGuru]

very few people dive without a computer nowadays, but it is nice to retain the capability in case it goes wonky.

I may be a bit old school (learning to dive in the mid 1980's before dive computers) but I woudl say it is essential to have the knowledge & backup equipment (watch & depth guage) to do it manually and before the start of the dive after all it is my neck on the line.

I also know how to buddy breath even though that is no longer taught.


Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows

 

[N1GHTEYES]

Really?!!!??? It is about a decade since I last dived (heart attack, lost equipment, moved away from the area of my old club, too shiftless to get going again), but I'm deeply amazed. BSAC or PADI? PADI I can believe, but BSAC? Surely not.

Tony

 

[BadBigBen]

about the miscalculation, when one calculates in inches and gives the output as centimeters, I would think NASA had that one down...

Mars Surveyor '98 program

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[cmeagan656]

or when one calculates in pounds per liter, not the number of kilograms per liter, I think Air Canada had that one down...

The Gimli Glider

Hope this helps.

Please help us help you. Read Tek-Tips posting polices before posting.
Canadian members check out Tek-Tips in Canada for socializing, networking, and anything non-technical.

 

[IPGuru]

No even BSAC no longer teach Buddy breathing

Apparently accident instigations showed that attempts to buddy breath during a rescue usually failed (& divers were using it before reaching for an octopus or their pony).

Rather than increase training the decided to drop it sounds like another case of Fanny to me (see dual meaning thread).

An octopus is now deemed to be the minimum equipment level if not a pony cylinder.



Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Apparently accident instigations showed
Instigations or investigations?




--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[IPGuru]

both
Investigation from BSAC instigation from PADI

A Maintenance contract is essential, not a Luxury.
Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear