Honestly, having followed this for years: It could mean either one as people are really bad at +/- percents as they are not communicative.
33% less than 6 is 4. 50% more than 4 is 6, but people transcribe them all the time and will say 50% less when they mean 50% more than the smaller number and in their mind the inverse is implied.
I should add, sometimes it's on purpose because "50% is bigger than 33% and I want to make it sound more dramatic". What really annoys me, though, is when you hear "<something we should be worried about> has decreased 115% over the last 3 years!!!" Uhh, no, that's unpossible.
flamboyant-dipshit t1_j0vfz4m wrote
Reply to comment by AttackOficcr in Iguana causes power outage in Florida town for third time this year | CNN by GZAofTheMidwest
Honestly, having followed this for years: It could mean either one as people are really bad at +/- percents as they are not communicative.
33% less than 6 is 4. 50% more than 4 is 6, but people transcribe them all the time and will say 50% less when they mean 50% more than the smaller number and in their mind the inverse is implied.
I should add, sometimes it's on purpose because "50% is bigger than 33% and I want to make it sound more dramatic". What really annoys me, though, is when you hear "<something we should be worried about> has decreased 115% over the last 3 years!!!" Uhh, no, that's unpossible.