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TheManassaBaller t1_j0szw4f wrote

Reply to comment by FireWireBestWire in Iguana causes power outage in Florida town for third time this year | CNN by GZAofTheMidwest

Probably 5. If it was down from 4 you'd say 33%

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AttackOficcr t1_j0tbq0c wrote

Wouldn't it be 6? 50% down from 6 would be 3 power outages.

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FriendOfDirutti t1_j0tqatx wrote

I’m no math scientist but I’m not sure how these people got 5 or 4.

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outerproduct t1_j0ttbm3 wrote

They went to school in Florida.

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SuddenlyElga t1_j0uvpgv wrote

That will do it. Did you know dinosaurs and Homo sapiens existed at the same time? Only about 4000 years ago. Florida knows.

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AttackOficcr t1_j0tx7bm wrote

Percentages don't work this way, but the thought was probably: (Down 50%, resulting in 3) if reversed is (50% up from 3)=4.5

I'd probably assume the .5 was a brownout caused by iguana and not round up or down if that was the case.

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FriendOfDirutti t1_j0tymqk wrote

Sir, I already told you I wasn’t a math scientist!

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AttackOficcr t1_j0u5yho wrote

Neither am I, bad math is a side gig. Biology is more my interest.

Like how did they not already have this same reptile issue with Floridian snakes crawling into electrical infrastructure?

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SuddenlyElga t1_j0uvtlp wrote

Floridian snakes generally don’t climb.

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AttackOficcr t1_j0v959t wrote

Rough Green snakes ~3 ft, Red corn flakes snakes ~4ft, and Eastern Ratsnakes ~6ft, are all known as good climbers.

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SuddenlyElga t1_j0ws28e wrote

I dunno man. Not doubting you but I always see them on the ground. We have black rat snakes, cute little ring necks, moccasins and cotton mouths around here and all of them are always on the ground. I did see what looked like a rough green on top of a hedge once! That was cool. And I’ve only come across one rattler but he was really pissed about it.

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AttackOficcr t1_j0xtupy wrote

They're often nocturnal, hunting birds or eggs from nests, and I'd guess sleeping in the trees, they don't stand out like a sore thumb.

A quick google search and apparently the Jacksonville area has had recurring snake power outages in 2014-2017 for similar reasons.

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flamboyant-dipshit t1_j0vfz4m wrote

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.

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AttackOficcr t1_j0ycs89 wrote

That can happen when it's a rate of growth going negative.

For example, the population growth rate of a rebounding endangered animal suddenly dipping after an extreme weather event. Like a flock of whooping crane getting caught in a tornado.

If the whooping crane population grew in size 20% last year, but decreased in size by 5% this year. Then the rate of population growth decreased by 125% (the population growth rate went negative).

The same could be said for inflation rates or stock growth rates if a positive trend suddenly reverses.

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