8/10 or 4/5?

[Markxxx]

When reading articles I often see statistics like 8 out of 10 people use this product. Or 4 of every 6 people are this way.

Why don't they reduce the fractions to their lowest form? Isn't it the same?

[Gilligan]

I don't see much "4 out of 6" but I suppose with "8 out of 10" it is easier to relate this to 80% than it would be for "4 out of 5". Same would be true with "85 out of 100" - easier than "17 out of 20".

[Babar714]

Always reduce. Always, always reduce.

Being a recent high school graduate, I know this. The most important thing I learned in HS, is "Always reduce". Must have heard it 6 out of 10 days. Alwaysreducealwaysreducealwaysreduce!

[mr john]

just makes it sound more impressive. and also makes it sound like they asked more people. "they asked at least 10 people", you think. "instead of just asking 5 if they had asked 6 maybe the 6th would have been a 'no' so and it would have been 4 out of 6 instead of 4 out of 5." Contrarily what sounds more impressive? " half of all people surveyed" or "one out of two?" ah well, it's 6 dozen of one and half of another.

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"Pardon me while I have a strange interlude."-Marx

[NanoByte]

99 out of 100 people are never bothered by this state of affairs. . .and then comes this handle with all the 'x's in it. Must be a Marxian plot.

Ray

[NanoByte]

BTW, 4 out of 5 doctors say 90% of people admire doctors, but I'm not 1. . .but rather at least 10%.

Ray

[Nickrz]

Eight out of ten people think the other two are nuts.

And of course 88% of all statistics are made up by the writer.

[C K Dexter Haven]

Nuts. From the title of this thread, I thought it was about dates, and whether 8/10 meant August 10 or October 8.

[Keeves]

I think "8 out of 10" is more accurate. It means somewhere between 76% and 84%. "4 out of 5" could be anything between 71% and 89%.

[AWB]

Robin (Anne Heche) to Quinn (Harrison Ford)
"I've flown with you twice and you've crashed half the time." - Robin (Anne Heche) to Quinn (Harrison Ford) in Six Days Seven Nights (http://us.imdb.com/Title?six+days+seven+nights)