The way to make sense of this is not to think about the water weight but the solid matter. By changing the proportion of water from 99% to 98%, you're also doubling the proportion of solid mass from 1% to 2%.

> you're also doubling the proportion of solid mass from 1% to 2%.

And the final step is then, that the solid mass didn't change and therefore the liquid must be halved, instead of the solid doubled.

The limit case can be helpful here, a strawberry made of 100% water can be dehydrated to practically nothing and is still made of 100% water.

What you said makes no sense. If I'm only judged by how much money I have, then even if I have $0 I'm still a billionaire?

Easiest for me if thinking only in fractions and percentages, and realizing that the dry mass is a constant.

The obvious example is 99g water, 1g dry mass. Knowing that 1g cannot change, what do we need water to be to equal 98%? 49g.

For me the mistake was 1:1 relation between percentage and weight which didn't remain true after weight loss but I thought it did

*Monty Hall