• Big P@feddit.uk
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    1 year ago

    If it jumped 10% annually since 2010 wouldn’t that make it 130% or am I bad at maths

    • RisingSwell@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That’s not how this kind of thing works, and it depends on where it starts. If it’s 1% of children attempting suicide, which would be a huge amount, a 10% increase is 1.1%, and then for the next year a 10% increase makes it 1.21%, and then 1.33%. This is why when something increases your risk of something by say, 50%, it might mean absolutely nothing if the initial odds are 1 in a billion. 1.5 in a billion isn’t really any more likely.

      • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The increase itself doesn’t matter where it starts, 10% each year over 13 years will always be an increase of ~245%.

        It also matters a lot to look at the relative change no matter the absolute amount, since it indicates a trend. Even if the chance for something terrible is 1 in a billion, a steady 10% increase every year should worry everyone, since there is a clear trend (and compounding increases get big faster than you’d expect).

    • R0cket_M00se@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      10% above its current rate.

      So if 2% of children are killing themselves an increase of ten percent would be 2.2%.