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General Category => Huh? => Topic started by: ChrisSmolinski on June 10, 2019, 1722 UTC

Title: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: ChrisSmolinski on June 10, 2019, 1722 UTC
Quote
Police in San Luis, Arizona arrested three students Wednesday at summer school for allegedly having more than 3,000 potentially deadly pills.

Santana said each pill costs $15 on the black market so the school bust is worth more than $30 million on the street.

"You're looking at about 3200 plus m30 pills that were in her possession," Santana said.

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/nation-world/teens-arrested-for-fentanyl-stash-at-school-worth-more-than-30-million
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: Treehouse SWL on June 10, 2019, 1903 UTC
D'oh! Fake math!

When I was a newspaper reporter and editor, most reporters didn't check their math, especially if a figure was given to them by an official source. That's probably more true now, given that there are few reporters trying to cover more news than ever.

I was considered "good at math" for a writer, which meant I could easily figure out percentage changes and other relevant figures. Like most journalists (now a recovering journalist who's in corporate communications), however, I'm pretty lousy overall at anything beyond basic math.
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: Josh on June 10, 2019, 1910 UTC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSTct2FFamw

theyre just building empire
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: Ct Yankee on June 10, 2019, 2203 UTC
Recently I responded to a YL columnist and her editor about her math.  She was throwing a hissy-fit over Alabama abortion laws. She, and I paraphrase, stated "... what do you expect from a state with 4 million people incarcerated?  That's 8 times the population of Rhode Island."  Realizing the sheer stupidity of such a number, I looked it up - Alabama has about 57,000 in jail.  The columnist couldn't claim it was a typo because of the Rhode Island comparison.  Shortly after my email, the column was yanked off line, never to be seen again.  Although, a correction was printed in the newspaper.

My favorite math problem for the math is TOO HARD group:

                                                         x=y
                                                 x(squared)=xy
                                    x(squared)-y(squared)=xy-y(squared)
                                      (x+y) (x-y) =y (x-y)
(Since we started with x=y, then x+y=2y)   2y=y. (divide both sides by Y)
                                                Thus, 2=1.     ;)
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: ChrisSmolinski on June 10, 2019, 2205 UTC
Recently I responded to a YL columnist and her editor about her meth.  Throwing a hissy-fit over Alabama abortion laws she, and I paraphrase, stated "... what do you expect from a state with 4 million people incarcerated?  That's 8 times the population of Rhode Island."  Realizing the sheer stupidity os such a number, I looked it up - Alabama has about 57,000 in jail.  The columnist couldn't claim it was a typo because of the Rhode Island comparison.  Shortly after my email, the column was yanked off line, never to be seen again.

When I see numbers in an article, I often ask myself, are these numbers even plausible?   Obviously in the case you gave... they are not. There's quite a few bogus statistics out there, and once a lie is repeated often enough, it becomes accepted as fact.
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: jta on June 13, 2019, 1717 UTC
I think it was Mark Twain who said, "There's lies, damned lies, and statistics."

The trouble with statistics is that you can make them say anything...
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: JimIO on June 13, 2019, 1846 UTC

   https://youtu.be/piEl-dHGuRk
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: ChrisSmolinski on June 13, 2019, 2024 UTC
This Hurricane? https://www.nj.com/opinion/2014/04/spare_us_the_lies_about_the_late_hurricane_carter_mulshine.html

p.s. I thought Lex had addressed this a few years ago https://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,7529.msg19667.html#msg19667
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: Skipmuck on June 13, 2019, 2106 UTC
My favorite math problem for the math is TOO HARD group:

                                                         x=y
                                                 x(squared)=xy
                                    x(squared)-y(squared)=xy-y(squared)
                                      (x+y) (x-y) =y (x-y)
(Since we started with x=y, then x+y=2y)   2y=y. (divide both sides by Y)
                                                Thus, 2=1.     ;)

In the 4th line where you divide both sides by (x-y), you run into s slight problem. If x = y, then (x-y) = 0. Dividing by zero will get you into trouble everytime!
Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: JimIO on June 13, 2019, 2119 UTC
I'm sure there is a similar Opinion Story out there about the Central Park Five.

Title: Re: From the "math is hard" department
Post by: Ct Yankee on June 14, 2019, 1557 UTC
You win skippy!   ;D