gold – Innumeracy https://innumeracy.net The Mathematical Equivalent of Illiteracy..... Sat, 13 May 2017 12:33:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 105994619 Gold Seller doesn’t know percentages https://innumeracy.net/gold-seller-doesnt-know-percentages/ https://innumeracy.net/gold-seller-doesnt-know-percentages/#respond Sat, 13 May 2017 12:33:06 +0000 http://innumeracy.net/?p=129 The Globe ad was just one example of how ad writers can be clueless. Here’s another example. I scanned this from an advertisement from a company trying to sell you gold coins. Set aside the timeframe of this ad, by the end of 2016 the S&P had recovered so that 2000-2016 would have shown growth to $21,000, otherwise known as +110%.

Look at the percent growth the ad shows for Real Estate and Gold. $10,000 to $26,065 is “Up $16,065” which, from a starting point of $10,000 is +161% (rounding up). Not +260%. If gold was worth just $11000, would they have advertised “Up 110%”?

I can’t help but wonder what the qualifications are for ad writer at these companies.

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