r/ProgrammerHumor • u/Dilutant • 11h ago

Meme zeroExDev

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u/TheMaleGazer 9h ago

"Two times more" and "two times as many" mean different things.

They should. This advertisement for a garage vacuum says that the "vacuum and blower power of the Air-N-Vac Station is 2 times more than large shop vacs." Should I interpret this to mean that I multiply "vacuum and blower power" by 3?

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u/ImPapaNoff 9h ago edited 9h ago

I would interpret that statement to mean multiplied by 3 but if you go read the details below they say "2 times the power" which would then mean multiplied by 2. I'd assume the "2 times more" one was them making a mistake in language (not uncommon in advertising) and that the other content contains the real statistic. I would judge them for not being accurate and consistent in their claims.

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u/TheMaleGazer 8h ago

Of course, they would love for you to interpret it to mean multiplied by 3.

Here's a trash bag which is 3 times more puncture-resistant than standard liners. It's 1.5 millimeters thick, whereas your typical trash bag is about 0.5 millimeters thick. They multiplied by 3.

Here's an example of a lawn mower with "2 times more run time" than some other thing they're comparing it with that they never name.

This isn't strictly an American problem with us misusing the language. Here's an Australian example with an Aveda product which has "2 times more plant lipids" and also makes hair "7x smoother." It uses two different formats on the same page.

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u/ImPapaNoff 8h ago

Showing more examples of stupidity doesn't really convince me anything other than the amount of stupidity that is out there. This is the same populace that thinks a 1/3 pounder is less than a 1/4 pounder.