100 percent snippy
Can I get snippy for a moment? Thanks.
Not snippy at anyone in particular, but I've been bottling this up for a long time now, and I'm going to let it out. Watch out, here it comes.
Why must people exaggerate percentages? What I mean is, why do people use massive numbers as percentages to emphasise their point? For example:
"I'm behind him 1000 percent" [reference]
"My brother is innocent, he is 1000 percent innocent" [Michael Jackson's brother, Jermaine]
"I am one million percent certain..." [weird cult-like reference]
Last night I heard someone say "5 million percent" on TV, but I can't remember who or the context. And that is what has set me off on this rant.
For the record, unless you are talking about relative increasing values (ie stock values, house values) numbers greater than 100 do not work with the word 'percent'. That's what percent means. Its a fraction. The denominator is 100, the numerator is less than or equal to 100 in real situations. Values greater than 100 % are not real numbers, they are terms of relativity or comparison (e.g. my savings have grown by 120 % since last year", not "I got 120 % on my maths test"). Do the above examples correlate to people who failed elementary school maths?.
When people exaggerate percentages it makes me very suspicious that they are covering for something. Gasp! Maybe Michael Jackson isn't as innocent as his brother would have us believe!
posted by Sarah @ 5:31 am
3 comments
3 Comments:
I am one billion percent certain that you are correct.
:oD
MJ is one weird fellow who certainly has some skeletons in his closet. This family, however, is not seeking justice, but money. Anyone who gets involved (or lets their kids hang out) with MJ knows he's a sicko, and are probably just trying to take him on a run for his money.
I think people exaggerate percentages for the same reason that they use the F word all the time - lack of imagination or a limited vocabulary.
errr. ok.
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