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Percentages
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On one of yesterday evening's news broadcasts, George Osborne made a comment...I believe it was about the departing Louise Mensch's contribution to Parliament and her constituents...involving the phrase, "110 percent."
It occurs to me that such a failure to grasp even the simplest of arithmetical concepts might explain why virtually everything he has touched at the Treasury has fallen apart.
(To placate those who claim one must present a question here rather than a statement, I add, "Do you agree?")
It occurs to me that such a failure to grasp even the simplest of arithmetical concepts might explain why virtually everything he has touched at the Treasury has fallen apart.
(To placate those who claim one must present a question here rather than a statement, I add, "Do you agree?")
Answers
Our maths teacher told us, in no uncertain terms, that you CANNOT have more than 100% of anything.
One of the few facts that has stuck with me, even though Maths and Arithmetic were my three worst subjects at school.
10:38 Tue 07th Aug 2012
it depends on the context
It's become a slightly lazy truism to say that 110% is impossible when clearly it can be meaningful.
I dare say no-one would turn down a 110% rise!
One could give 110% effort when compared to an average effort of one's colleagues.
But in reality what we're looking at is an expression, a metaphor which has found it's way into the English language and isn't intended to be taken literally any more than any more of the hundreds of other metaphors.
To think that it has any relevance to arithmetic is severely missing the point
If someone complained of repeating themselves "a million times" I rather assume you wouldn't pick them up on it
No I wouldn't agree I think you're letting pedentry run away with you
It's become a slightly lazy truism to say that 110% is impossible when clearly it can be meaningful.
I dare say no-one would turn down a 110% rise!
One could give 110% effort when compared to an average effort of one's colleagues.
But in reality what we're looking at is an expression, a metaphor which has found it's way into the English language and isn't intended to be taken literally any more than any more of the hundreds of other metaphors.
To think that it has any relevance to arithmetic is severely missing the point
If someone complained of repeating themselves "a million times" I rather assume you wouldn't pick them up on it
No I wouldn't agree I think you're letting pedentry run away with you
F30, you may remember that, a few years ago, Gordon Brown made a slip of the tongue when, instead of suggesting his actions had saved banks from disaster, he actually said in Westminster that he had "saved the world". Do you also remember how the Tories and the right-wing gutter press cackled on about it thereafter?
Well, I think I have the same right to extract the urine from a Tory who also said something silly. In addition, I thought people would see the joke.
Well, I think I have the same right to extract the urine from a Tory who also said something silly. In addition, I thought people would see the joke.
I rather liked Mensch... any MP who hasn't spent all his or her life in politics is always going to be more rounded and more interesting than the rest. But I expect her other job, plus family, is just too time-consuming.
(Which implies that she wasn't giving 110% to her constituents after all, but there you are.)
(Which implies that she wasn't giving 110% to her constituents after all, but there you are.)
I think they have sat round a table and decided that using the phrase 110 percent is the way forward. I posted this after watching Ozzy then 4 or 5 minutes later Dave on the news.
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Dunno but George Osbourne has just said he thinks we should re-double our efforts and he is 110% focused on the economy.
not a very bright thing for a Chancellor of the Exchequer to say.
DC Has just said the exact same thing .... What The Funicular
22:27 Wed 25th Jul 2012
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Dunno but George Osbourne has just said he thinks we should re-double our efforts and he is 110% focused on the economy.
not a very bright thing for a Chancellor of the Exchequer to say.
DC Has just said the exact same thing .... What The Funicular
22:27 Wed 25th Jul 2012