This Percentage Age

[Coldicote]

Official measurements of anything seem to be calculated in percentages these days. For instance this morning's news tells us the UK economy shrank by 0.3 per cent in the last three months. To me this means three tenths of one per cent - a small measure and meaningless without figures. What do all these modern day percentages mean to you?

[youngmafbog]

Percentages give a ROM. If given the figures woudl it actually mean anything to most? The figures tned to be large by individuals standards but not in the global scheme of things so alos could be very misleading.
As you point out a shrink of 0.3% is minor and actually means we are bubbling aloong. e problem come with those who have an agenda and want to make it more than it is.

[jake-the-peg]

The GDP is a measure of the country's wealth

Think of it like the interest rate you get in the bank

If you've money in the bank you're doubtlessly not pleased at the curent interest rates at a fraction of a percent - I doubt you'd describe it as "bubbling along"

If that rate were to go negative as the growth figure has I imagine you'd be pretty furious.

A negative growth rate means that for all our we're getting poorer not richer
-> less money to pay off debts

[bazwillrun]

Its a another clever mind trick.

Is like cutting sandwiches in half horizontally or in half diagonally.
According to the physchologists, ad people marketing people etc, the diagonals look bigger although they arent.

In test when given the choice the majority of people will pick the triangles off as opposed to the obloids becaus the triangles look bigger

1 in 10 , 10 in 100 or 100 in thousand all the same as percentage but 10% sounds better as you scale up the numbers, so depending on what you want to portray you also need to pick how to depict the number

0.3 % sounds like next to nothing, but imagine if they were to put the figure in real terms ie billions of pounds or even as a fraction, wouldnt seem as small as 0.3 %.
Its just another way of showing a statistic to paint the picture and get a calculated (no pun intended) response.

[sp1814]

Coldicote - I can totally see what you mean...we have transformed from a 'fractions' society to a 'percent' society...perhaps as a result of a couple of generations growing up with decimilisation?

[Canary42]

Statistics can easily be made to lie, and using percentages makes it even easier.

For example - 40% of sickies were pulled on a Friday or a Monday sounds like weekend-stretching - but with a five-day week it's only average.

[d9f1c7]

then there is the constant errors with terminlogy when they say, for example x has risen by n% when they mean n percentage points.

[Coldicote]

Thank you all for these interesting answers. I've often heard it said that 'statistics can be made to prove anything' and I guess they don't mean very much to many people. Can someone please explain the difference between a percentage and a 'percentage point'?

[Zeuhl]

coldicote

if something changes from (say) 10% to 15% you could say it's gone up 5 percentage points or you could sdescribe it as a 50% increase

[HowardKennitby]

This is a very good and readable book about the use or misuse of statistics.

http://www.amazon.co....Through/dp/1861978391

Worth reading if you come upon it.

[pdq1]

Its all comparative. Over the past two decades our economy has stuck to an average of +2% per annum so anything deviating from this figure is classed as a failure. Interestingly China and India have approached double figures and is the main reason why we are much poorer today.

[Coldicote]

Thanks everyone, now I feel a few percentage points better informed - but hardly excited about it!