<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">I just noticed that some calculators get even weirder. So let's consider, then, what is 15%? By your definition, 15%, by itself, should produce 0 on the calculator, or an error, since there was nothing to apply it to. However, most calculators will give .15. I have seen some that answer 2.25 (15% of 15), but I can't justify that no matter how hard I try...<DIV>Nevertheless, 15% is not exclusively a ratio. It is a shorthand for "hundredths". So 24839% = 248.39</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Obviously, the problem is that there is no "of" button on the calculator.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>As far as tipping goes, there is an implied "of" as in "of the bill" which is distinctly different than the OP's notation of "+". Hence the inconsistent calculator convention.</DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Nov 27, 2005, at 3:15 PM, Neil wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"> <FONT face="Verdana">on 11/27/05 2:32 PM, Aron Spencer wrote:<BR> <BR> </FONT><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><FONT face="Verdana">Ah, but .15 is a ratio as well. So is 1. ¼, however is not, nor are e, ˆ2, ˆ3, ˆ5, ....<BR> Hence the term "rational numbers".<BR> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE><FONT face="Verdana"><BR> OK, I can see that there is some confusion because decimals and fractions can be ratios or they can be numbers. Percents are different in that percentage is by definition a ratio. It is never a number. You use percents to calculate a number. That’s why a 15% tip is not the same thing as a 15 cent tip. </FONT><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">_______________________________________________</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">X4U mailing list</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="mailto:X4U@listserver.themacintoshguy.com">X4U@listserver.themacintoshguy.com</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><A href="http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/x4u">http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/x4u</A></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff:</DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><SPAN class="Apple-converted-space"> </SPAN><A href="http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984">http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984</A></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Aron S. Spencer</FONT></P> <P style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px"><FONT face="Helvetica" size="3" style="font: 12.0px Helvetica">Elizabeth, NJ 07202</FONT></P> </DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>