It's called rounding, and it's quite common.
this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2025
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They can't do math at The Economist.
40.5 + 56.5 + 3.5 = 100.5
Something’s not right.
Unless 40.5, 56.5 and 3.5 are themselves additions of rounded numbers. It's generally how that works.
Using strongly/somewhat for approve and disapprove:
39.5 + 0.5 + 55.5 + 0.5 + 3.5 = 99.5
That could work.
39.5 + 0.5
=40, not 41
55.5 + 0.5
=56, not 57
Its only possible if you round up 40.1 to 41, which is also bad math. When there are 3 variables properly rounded up, you can only have 3x0.5 added.
What I say is that there is more than three variables. The three variables are already the result of addition of other variables rounded.
So there were other options you mean? Like 0.5% couldn't read, 0.5% drew a picture of a gun instead of answering, etc?
0.5% strongly approve, rounds up to 1%. 39.5% somewhat approve, rounds up to 40%. The proportion of people who, to varying degrees, approve is then listed as 41%, because otherwise people would see it as them saying 1+40=40.
People are going to say they don’t understand math either way, so they just need to pick a convention and stick to it.
Ok, fair enough, yet again you can't divide the group into smaller groups and by rounding up ending up with a larger group. Percent means per 100. It can never end up being more than 100, except for Trump who is going to reduce medicine prices 1200%. I mean, Americans use weird measurements already, their education system is already fucked and getting worse, I can understand they fail at primary school level math. But this is a British news paper.
39.5 = 40
0.5 = 1
40 + 1 = 41
———————-
55.5 = 56
0.5 = 1
56 + 1 = 57
———————-
3.5 = 4
Since the original 5 numbers only add up to 95.5, you have a leftover 0.5 to distribute between them. After doing so, you would have what could have been the original results before rounding.
Yet this is based on the assumption there were more options, plus the total should still not exceed 100%
What they should have done was adding up all the combined answers first before rounding up or down, this would make the total 100.
That is doing it wrong. You should only ever round as the last step before display.
Could they have 40.74 and rounded it down to the nearest .5?
The bigliest and bestest President the world has ever seen obviously surpasses the wokist 100% barrier! First to ever do that!
Edit: Accidentally replied to myself instead of you
It can't happen with honest rounding
What rounding algorithm was used? I have a hard time coming up with values or methods to be more than a single unit off.
What rounding algorithm was used?
A wrong one clearly haha
Approve and disapprove are generally a collection of different possible response (for example strongly approve, approve, slightly approve) which all can be rounded. When you round the result of an addition of rounded numbers, the result can be slightly off, without changing the significance of the result.
How are people still on the fence about this guy?
A significant minority of Germans liked Hitler even after 1945. Plenty of people will just never stop supporting Trump.
OK, but how are people "on the fence" as in undecided about him. He's not someone that people tend to feel ambivalent about
Honestly I wonder if some of it isn't people in super remote areas or otherwise disconnected from conventional communities. If you live on a mountain with no internet or TV and drive into town once a month for groceries or live in an underground mole people tunnel system it's probably easier to not give a fuck. Like obviously these things will still affect you, but not in any immediate way that's gonna slap you in the face tomorrow.
If somebody catches that guy at the grocery store at the end of the month and gets him to fill out a survey he's probably just like "...who? Oh a coupon though!" And the mole person will do it for a $5 subway card. That's still at least a cookie these days. And they'll both just check "meh" for everything and hand the survey back and take their coupon. I talked to a dude at the bus stop for a while that said getting his phone stolen had actually turned out to be really great for his mental health aside from needing to ask me when the next one was coming. Like I get that this is important stuff but sometimes ignorance looks pretty damn blissful.
People who don't want to admit they support him but also don't want to say they don't?
Oh, that's a good question. Maybe it's people who like his Nazi policies but don't like the dementia and tariffs?
Most presidents had double digit people on the fence because a lot of people were only indirectly impacted compared to prior presidents, as in no worse off or better than before.
Only 4% being undecided is mind boggling!
If there are some people that like him, and some people that hate him, you can bet your arse there are some people who kinda don't know. 2% or 4% or whatever it is is not many people to be undecided.
Too dumb and ignorant.
Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but the US is filled with shitty people.
Crushed by work ?
Too deep into the cult but to actually see him negatively, while seeing their whole life in shambles due to his administration.
Motherfucker, do we really need to bring back the corn?
Don't be so corny
we posted corn about this you ass
41% stupid
4% brain damaged
The economist has long since lost any claims to integrity. They ask all the right questions, and make up all the wrong answers.
Someone should call up Weird Al to turn this into a remix of Remember the Name by Fort Minor, lol