In article , "xrongor" wrote:
im trying to get this really clear. you are saying my comparison of the two
years is meaningless?

Yes. I think I said that before.

the article gives you the percent of their goal for two different years. we
agree on this? lets not get into what it means yet, just that we can agree
that the article provides those numbers. can we do that?

Yes.

lets replace the sentence % of their goal with the word apple since you've
accused me of comparing apples to oranges. you got it? the phrase "% of
their goal" shall be replaced by the word 'apple'. so to rephrase, the
article gives you the apple for one year, and gives you the apple for the
next year, and you cant say that the apple has gone down or is falling?

Your paraphrase conceals the problem, because it obscures the fact that the
goals themselves, and any change in them from one year to the next, are not
known. Let's stick with the original phrasing, please.

The incomplete numbers equally well support _both_ of these statements:

a) the percentage of goal achievement is falling
b) the goal itself is rising

and hence it is not possible to derive _any_ meaningful conclusion, in the
absence of further data.

because that is the only claim i made. the PERCENT is falling, not actual
numbers.

SO WHAT?? That doesn't mean a damn thing, unless you know what it's a
percentage OF. And you don't.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

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