Re:NASA says 'City killer' asteroid now has 3.1% chance of h...
by andrewmcwatters on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @08:27AM
(#43101907)
The best way I've found to grasp an applied understanding of percentages at large scales for any layperson is to think of spelling errors by the percentage of words in a book.
3.1/100 sounds negligible at first, doesn't it? But now think about if every 3 words per 100 in a book were misspelt.
Think about how much more critical this would be in safety situations. What about 3 of every 100 cars getting in an accident on the nearest interstate highway by your home? Surely in one day that would be a historical amount in any major metro. It would be national news.
3.1/100 sounds negligible at first, doesn't it? But now think about if every 3 words per 100 in a book were misspelt.
Think about how much more critical this would be in safety situations. What about 3 of every 100 cars getting in an accident on the nearest interstate highway by your home? Surely in one day that would be a historical amount in any major metro. It would be national news.