> "1 + 1 = 200%" makes no sense at all. "200%" of what? The whole point is to underline that the %-symbol is just another way of writing "*1/100" or "divide by 100". In fact, that's how the %-symbol started in the first place. http://www.roma.unisa.edu.au/07305/symbols.htm#Percent I can see where you are coming from because asking "x% of what" is how percentages are commonly used almost 100% (c: of the time. But at the end of the day, 1% is still nothing else but 1/100. That's the definition of percentage: A fraction. You absolutely do not have to use another factor behind a percentage or any other fraction. You do not _have to_ specify "of what" any more than if you write "0.01". Take it from teachers: http://webinstituteforteachers.org/99/teams/rationals/glossary.html Take it from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percent "'one percent', represented by the symbol %, is simply the number 1/100, or 0.01" Or take it from someone who has a master in math http://myself.(c: And if you have Mathematica around feel free to have it evaluate 1% et voila, it will not say syntax error. After all, all you did was enter a number. You can write write 50% and not ask "of what" like you can write 0.5 or 1/2 or 7 and not ask "of what". They are just numbers. Of course, in real life you will more likely say "1/2 of my salary" or "7 tomatoes" or "50% of American adults" But if the numbers are all that you want, then 50% is just as good as 2^3, 1.23, VII or whatever other numerical symbol mankind came up with. The underlying problem, as others and I have posted before, is not that of mathematical correctness. Tiger's calculator does it mathematically right. It's a UI problem: If 99% of the users expect the calculator to do something different, should Apple then insist that their private professor at Berkeley confirms they have it right? And even more so since, as we all agree, in real life people will use percentages almost exclusively with some other quantity. > If your math instructors have taught you that this is mathematically and > logically a correct and complete statement, your instructors need > to be shot for being mormons. Well, let's stay politically correct and make that "morons". A good friend of mine is Mormon and he'd probably be offended had he not such a good sense of humor. (c: Bjorn _______________________________________________ X4U mailing list X4U at listserver.themacintoshguy.com http://listserver.themacintoshguy.com/mailman/listinfo/x4u Listmom is trying to clean out his closets! Vintage Mac and random stuff: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmacguy1984 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information contained herein is confidential and is intended solely for the addressee. Access by any other party is unauthorised without the express written permission of the sender. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender either via the company switchboard on +44 (0)20 7623 8000, or via e-mail return. If you have received this e-mail in error or wish to read our e-mail disclaimer statement and monitoring policy, please refer to http://www.drkw.com/disc/email/ or contact the sender. 3167 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------