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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I can't take it any more. I really need
your help please..</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In these painfully contorted times, media are
forever saturating news reports with the latest polls just
in.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>53% think yes leader x is lying
scum</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>46% said no he's not, he's got Dog on his
side</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>1% undecided</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>etc </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you are very lucky they specify the size of the
sample. 1000 people perhaps.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>But they never speak it. Instead we get all this
nonsense</FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"Most Martians said ....."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"The majority ...."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>etc</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I need your help to find a [new] more honest,
preferably Pythonic and revealing way to speak about
these numbers.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Let's assume a population of
300,000,000</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And a sample of 1000</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>53% yay</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>46 % nay</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>1% dohnuts</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My teacher vigorously taught us whenever we
saw any % signs to **always** ask out loud "Percentage of What
?"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So when I see/hear any polls or
statistics, I get pretty crazy because I immediately look for the
s</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>ize of the sample and then ask:
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>How on this
earth can they presume to multiply that tiny sampling from
1000 to 300,000,000 ?" </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And then I wonder " Why on this earth do other
people go along with this madness?"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It must be something to do with how they were
taught to read and speak basic math.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And since we are all here praying for the days when
programming is an integral part of our basic literacy, I want to hear your best
suggestions about how we can prevent such nonsense in the future.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Spoken dialogue with Python examples
please.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>thank you very much</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-- Jason</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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