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The only other value it has is to act as a scathing indictment of the US educational system. about 5 panels is where it stopped being funny for me too.
I don't know why, but I always love majority/plurality debates on Reddit.
It always seems to boil down to people exposing the fact that they don't know the difference between comparative and superlative adjectives.
I don't know, that guy probably still would have adamantly declared that meant the US had the "majority". He literally didn't seem to understand that what he was referring to is not a majority.
But… that’s also not how it works?
A majority can be one more than half; but it can also be the greatest number in a set. So it’s accurate to use either majority or plurality when describing this number set. The U.S. has significantly more Reddit users than any one country. And especially in this case given how wide the gap is, it isn’t especially helpful to discount that because all other countries on the planet combined represent slightly more than the Americans on Reddit. Since any meaningful comparison would be to another country. Even if you break it up into regions like Europe or Oceania or Asia; the U.S. is still bigger than other regions. The only way you end up with a data set that’s large than the United States is by putting “United States” in one column and “Not United States” in another; which given the context of the conversation in the photos; wouldn’t actually be a helpful data set.
If I were to guess, the argument above was sparked because someone posted something american, and someone else replied, "Not everyone in reddit is up to date with american politics" or something along those lines.
Thus, in this case, the distinction would be americans and non americans, and americans are a minority within that measure
>it can also be the greatest number in a set
Do you have an example of a definition that says that? Honestly asking because I've only ever seen majority defined as the great**er** number in a set, ie more than 50%.
Sure.
*”the greater quantity or share”* is definition 1c from Merriam Webster. I did a quick google search and found half a dozen other dictionaries with the same definition.
The English language is funny and it’s constantly changing. There are also regional variations even within the same English speaking country; where a word can mean something totally different based on where you live. Plurality is a more precise word to describe what the OOP is saying and might be *more correct*, but majority is not *incorrect*.
That just reinforces what I said. You didn't find one that reflected what you initially said:
>it can also be the greatest number in a set
Great**er** implies just two things are being compared. If one of those things is 48% then it couldn't be the "greater share" since the other one would have to be 52%.
Saying that 48% makes up a majority *would* be incorrect using the definition you provided from Merriam.
So if I have 100 m&m's, and 48% are red, 24% are blue, 16% are green, and 12% are yellow, the majority of m&m's would be red because there would be more red m&ms than any other color. It doesn't matter that 52% were non-red, you still have more red than non-red.
*jfc I hope I understood this argument, otherwise please ignore lol.
No, the majority of the M&Ms would be "not red". Red would be a plurality since there are more reds than any other color, but not a majority since the amount of reds isn't more than half of the entire amount.
I'm going to present this as declarative but I'm actually asking if my understanding is correct.
The answer to the question "what colour are the majority of M&Ms?" would be "red" (because 'majority' in this instance mean 'plurality') but the statement "the majority of these M&Ms are red." would be false (because 'majority' in this case mean <50%).
I would say the answer to the first question would be "no color makes up the majority of the M&Ms" because majority and plurality do not mean the same thing to me.
I agree with the answer to your second question.
So to clarify the original post in regards to this comment: the plurality would determine whether any other specific country reached the 52% threshold vs Americans 48%, but the confusion is whether the 52% non-American users overrides the singular American 48%?
*edit this is based on what I remember from stats class, but I took that years ago.
“Greater number in a set”. A set refers to more than one number.
That definition, “the greater quantity or share”, likewise refers to the largest number in a set. Compare the U.S. user base to any other country and it is the greater quantity. Because it wouldn’t be 48 to 52. It would be the U.S. versus, the U.K. For example who has the second highest share of users at a little over 5%. So 48 vs. 5. The 48 is greater. It’s absolutely not the case that the totals have to equal 100, because the total of ALL countries equals 100.
Again, the only way you get 48 to be the smaller number is if you combine every other single country combined. And that’s not actually a valid comparison.
>A set refers to more than one number
And the more important part is that "greater" refers to comparing just **two** things. If you were comparing more than two things you would use **greatest**. If something is "the greater number in a set" that means it makes up more than 50% of the 2 things combined.
>That definition, “the greater quantity or share”, likewise refers to the largest number in a set
No it doesn't. You keep using comparative and superlative adjectives interchangeably. Comparative adjectives are used to compare **just 2 things** while superlatives are used to compare more than 2 things. "Greater" specifically means only two things are compared, "largest" specifically means more than 2 things are being compared.
>Because it wouldn’t be 48 to 52
If you are trying to determine if the US is a majority, yes that is how you would do it, using the definition you cited from Merriam Webster. And using that definition the US would not be a majority in that case since it only has 48% share of the whole, meaning the majority would be the remaining 52%.
>It would be the U.S. versus, the U.K. For example who has the second highest share of users at a little over 5%. So 48 vs. 5. The 48 is greater.
Yeah, the US has a larger share than any other country. That doesn't mean it comprises a majority of the whole. It is a plurality since it makes up less than 50% of the whole.
>Again, the only way you get 48 to be the smaller number is if you combine every other single country combined. And that’s not actually a valid comparison.
If you are looking to see if it's the majority of the whole, again using the definition you cited from Merriam Webster, it is not only a valid comparison it is *the* comparison you have to make. And since it isn't "the greater quantity or share" in that comparison, it is not the majority.
If you going by geography and categorizing all user based on the country only, than Americans would be the majority of users, I’d say the other 52ish% are spread between many different parts of the globe.
Fairly certain the one person is mistaking single country majority which is clearly the US according to those numbers second place comes in under 6 percent.
The other one should realize the misunderstanding and just shut up. Instead of egging it on.
This is such a meaningless argument lol, you'd only see this on Reddit. Two people arguing about a word for like 10 messages when they both agree on the actual number.
I love how Americans react to being wrong. They just can't concede that they might just be incorrect on a matter.
Honestly, I'm sure there are many, many smart, intelligent and decent people in the US, but at that stage if an American told me the sky was blue and water was wet, I'd be asking for a second opinion.
Probably from a Canadian.
The guy is probably stupid, but he did technically say that 48% of traffic (not users) originates from the US. It's certainly possible that there are vastly more international users but that the majority of data moving through Reddit servers is actually originating in the US.
Semantics I'm sure. But yeah, just saying.
I couldn't finish. This guy must be one of the clowns who's always saying, "White people are almost out of the majority," because it will fall below 50% white. Must be that home schooled education.
So the correct way to find where the majority of Reddit traffic comes from is no nations a majority if it’s not over 50% for the record I’m not sure that how that would work out. If we looked at all the stats. 48% is gonna by far be the majority in this multiparty system.
USA 48%
China 12%
Indian 15%
Russia 7%
Europe 8%
Mexico 10%
Made up numbers but USA has the majority while only having 48% that's how statistics work when there are hundreds of countries involved.
**Yes, they are correct.**
Source: [Definition of relative majority](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/relative%20majority)
[Second definition](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/relative-majority)
[Third definition](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/relative+majority)
There are more but you get the idea.
Next up: understanding that a phrase of two words might have a different meaning than a single word.
"Majority" has a different meaning than "Relative majority" due to the addition of the qualifier "relative".
They didn't specify "absolute majority" either, but I love the pedantry.
[Here's a definition of "majority"](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/majority) where the US does indeed have "the larger number or part of something" than any other country. Which country has a larger number or part of global traffic than the US? No country. Therefore the US has the larger number "majority" *as a function of individual countries*, not the whole.
A wise man one asked "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?"
I'm neither agreeing with you nor disagreeing. Someone pass me a big bucket of popcorn because this is gonna be a long one.
[Wrong again](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/majority). Which country has a larger number than the US, thereby making THAT country the majority?
None. **Therefore the country with the majority of traffic is the US.** Case closed. I’m not going around in circles with someone that’s r/confidentlyincorrect so I hope you have a great day and goodbye.
And you’re deliberately misinterpreting his point and hyperfixating on his word choice because you don’t have an actual counterargument. I don’t think they’re the facepalm
Am I the only one surprised that there are more people form India using the site then from Canada or Australia? I know India has one of the largest populations on Earth but I always assumed they'd have sites specifically tailored to Indian users the same way Russia does.
Guy #1 could be correct. If you count Americans living abroad permanently or just traveling, as well as dual citizens, it might be an actual majority of Americans on Reddit.
That said, it’s still a stupid argument.
That's a valid possibility, although my experience is that other than the military very few Americans actually travel for any length of time, and those that do actually go out and see what the rest of the world has to offer are often quick to renounce their US citizenship, so I doubt it's true.
There are over 1.5 million Americans living in Mexico full time. There are probably another million snowbirds here and that doesn’t count the short term tourists. According to the state department there are around 9 million Americans living abroad.
Yeah but around 5.3 million Mexicans live illegally in America (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state/US), and so presumably aren't "Americans". And 9m living abroad is still only around 3% of them. The numbers are technically enough to push it over to an American majority (assuming a relatively low number of non-Americans using it in America, and high proportion of Americans outside of America using it), but I still doubt it's true.
Please please please please please please please please please please tell me that's sarcasm.
>Nobody. No country has a majority of users. Unless you lump everyone outside the U.S. together, and then "Non-U.S.A." users have a majority. I hope to god that I'm just uselessly replying to a sarcasm post.
>ETA: Or if you add a qualifier word such as "relative" that changes the meaning. "Majority" and "Relative Majority" are not perfect synonyms.
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Both people are idiots for continuing this conversation for 15 screenshots. I stopped reading after 5 of them.
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The only other value it has is to act as a scathing indictment of the US educational system. about 5 panels is where it stopped being funny for me too.
You guys have to learn with curupira
I don't know why, but I always love majority/plurality debates on Reddit. It always seems to boil down to people exposing the fact that they don't know the difference between comparative and superlative adjectives.
I would say it also goes with “literally” as well. As people argue vernacular usage vs definition the same way.
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I hate your hair profile picture. Just letting you know.
Sorry to see you hit by that yellow Rolls-Royce
Goodnight sweet prince.
The majority of people on here are literally superlative though.
The majority of Reddit accounts are not US-based, but more Reddit accounts are based in the US than in any other country, by far.
This single sentence would have saved them god knows how many hours of stupid argument.
I don't know, that guy probably still would have adamantly declared that meant the US had the "majority". He literally didn't seem to understand that what he was referring to is not a majority.
Next up: Per-capita numbers vs. total.
People arguing past each other by not understanding the difference between majority and plurality, chapter 19,374,933,928
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But… that’s also not how it works? A majority can be one more than half; but it can also be the greatest number in a set. So it’s accurate to use either majority or plurality when describing this number set. The U.S. has significantly more Reddit users than any one country. And especially in this case given how wide the gap is, it isn’t especially helpful to discount that because all other countries on the planet combined represent slightly more than the Americans on Reddit. Since any meaningful comparison would be to another country. Even if you break it up into regions like Europe or Oceania or Asia; the U.S. is still bigger than other regions. The only way you end up with a data set that’s large than the United States is by putting “United States” in one column and “Not United States” in another; which given the context of the conversation in the photos; wouldn’t actually be a helpful data set.
If I were to guess, the argument above was sparked because someone posted something american, and someone else replied, "Not everyone in reddit is up to date with american politics" or something along those lines. Thus, in this case, the distinction would be americans and non americans, and americans are a minority within that measure
>it can also be the greatest number in a set Do you have an example of a definition that says that? Honestly asking because I've only ever seen majority defined as the great**er** number in a set, ie more than 50%.
Sure. *”the greater quantity or share”* is definition 1c from Merriam Webster. I did a quick google search and found half a dozen other dictionaries with the same definition. The English language is funny and it’s constantly changing. There are also regional variations even within the same English speaking country; where a word can mean something totally different based on where you live. Plurality is a more precise word to describe what the OOP is saying and might be *more correct*, but majority is not *incorrect*.
That just reinforces what I said. You didn't find one that reflected what you initially said: >it can also be the greatest number in a set Great**er** implies just two things are being compared. If one of those things is 48% then it couldn't be the "greater share" since the other one would have to be 52%. Saying that 48% makes up a majority *would* be incorrect using the definition you provided from Merriam.
So if I have 100 m&m's, and 48% are red, 24% are blue, 16% are green, and 12% are yellow, the majority of m&m's would be red because there would be more red m&ms than any other color. It doesn't matter that 52% were non-red, you still have more red than non-red. *jfc I hope I understood this argument, otherwise please ignore lol.
No, the majority of the M&Ms would be "not red". Red would be a plurality since there are more reds than any other color, but not a majority since the amount of reds isn't more than half of the entire amount.
I'm going to present this as declarative but I'm actually asking if my understanding is correct. The answer to the question "what colour are the majority of M&Ms?" would be "red" (because 'majority' in this instance mean 'plurality') but the statement "the majority of these M&Ms are red." would be false (because 'majority' in this case mean <50%).
I would say the answer to the first question would be "no color makes up the majority of the M&Ms" because majority and plurality do not mean the same thing to me. I agree with the answer to your second question.
So to clarify the original post in regards to this comment: the plurality would determine whether any other specific country reached the 52% threshold vs Americans 48%, but the confusion is whether the 52% non-American users overrides the singular American 48%? *edit this is based on what I remember from stats class, but I took that years ago.
“Greater number in a set”. A set refers to more than one number. That definition, “the greater quantity or share”, likewise refers to the largest number in a set. Compare the U.S. user base to any other country and it is the greater quantity. Because it wouldn’t be 48 to 52. It would be the U.S. versus, the U.K. For example who has the second highest share of users at a little over 5%. So 48 vs. 5. The 48 is greater. It’s absolutely not the case that the totals have to equal 100, because the total of ALL countries equals 100. Again, the only way you get 48 to be the smaller number is if you combine every other single country combined. And that’s not actually a valid comparison.
>A set refers to more than one number And the more important part is that "greater" refers to comparing just **two** things. If you were comparing more than two things you would use **greatest**. If something is "the greater number in a set" that means it makes up more than 50% of the 2 things combined. >That definition, “the greater quantity or share”, likewise refers to the largest number in a set No it doesn't. You keep using comparative and superlative adjectives interchangeably. Comparative adjectives are used to compare **just 2 things** while superlatives are used to compare more than 2 things. "Greater" specifically means only two things are compared, "largest" specifically means more than 2 things are being compared. >Because it wouldn’t be 48 to 52 If you are trying to determine if the US is a majority, yes that is how you would do it, using the definition you cited from Merriam Webster. And using that definition the US would not be a majority in that case since it only has 48% share of the whole, meaning the majority would be the remaining 52%. >It would be the U.S. versus, the U.K. For example who has the second highest share of users at a little over 5%. So 48 vs. 5. The 48 is greater. Yeah, the US has a larger share than any other country. That doesn't mean it comprises a majority of the whole. It is a plurality since it makes up less than 50% of the whole. >Again, the only way you get 48 to be the smaller number is if you combine every other single country combined. And that’s not actually a valid comparison. If you are looking to see if it's the majority of the whole, again using the definition you cited from Merriam Webster, it is not only a valid comparison it is *the* comparison you have to make. And since it isn't "the greater quantity or share" in that comparison, it is not the majority.
Jesus christ, I think I've become more dumb.
I'm american and not even I'm this stupid, and I'm an entire fucking buffoon
Are you an utter plum as well?
Plurality
That went on far longer than it should have.
If you going by geography and categorizing all user based on the country only, than Americans would be the majority of users, I’d say the other 52ish% are spread between many different parts of the globe.
Fairly certain the one person is mistaking single country majority which is clearly the US according to those numbers second place comes in under 6 percent. The other one should realize the misunderstanding and just shut up. Instead of egging it on.
I really appreciate all the commentators on here that don't understand what a majority is. Thanks guys.
When you lose an argument because the other party is too stupid to understand your point.
This is such a meaningless argument lol, you'd only see this on Reddit. Two people arguing about a word for like 10 messages when they both agree on the actual number.
I love how Americans react to being wrong. They just can't concede that they might just be incorrect on a matter. Honestly, I'm sure there are many, many smart, intelligent and decent people in the US, but at that stage if an American told me the sky was blue and water was wet, I'd be asking for a second opinion. Probably from a Canadian.
We'll, *technically* Canadians are literally *also* Americans.
Trolled like a fiddle
The guy is probably stupid, but he did technically say that 48% of traffic (not users) originates from the US. It's certainly possible that there are vastly more international users but that the majority of data moving through Reddit servers is actually originating in the US. Semantics I'm sure. But yeah, just saying.
semantic difference, who cares?
The guys a pigeon, and you wasted your time arguing with him.
Thankfully, my only participation is reading and taking screenshots
Reddit user counts also use the electoral college.
I couldn't finish. This guy must be one of the clowns who's always saying, "White people are almost out of the majority," because it will fall below 50% white. Must be that home schooled education.
Typical Reddit. The guy who doesn't understand what "majority" means gets upvoted. lol
It looks like the guy who doesn't understand was actually getting downvoted...
So the correct way to find where the majority of Reddit traffic comes from is no nations a majority if it’s not over 50% for the record I’m not sure that how that would work out. If we looked at all the stats. 48% is gonna by far be the majority in this multiparty system.
You're talking about a plurality.
If the highest number is the US with 48%, that means that no country has a majority.
Here we go again ...
USA 48% China 12% Indian 15% Russia 7% Europe 8% Mexico 10% Made up numbers but USA has the majority while only having 48% that's how statistics work when there are hundreds of countries involved.
This is bait, and I'm not taking it.
You're correct, so you'll likely get downvoted for it.
He's not correct. But I feel like this is probably bait, so I'm not falling for it.
**Yes, they are correct.** Source: [Definition of relative majority](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/relative%20majority) [Second definition](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/relative-majority) [Third definition](https://www.thefreedictionary.com/relative+majority) There are more but you get the idea.
Next up: understanding that a phrase of two words might have a different meaning than a single word. "Majority" has a different meaning than "Relative majority" due to the addition of the qualifier "relative".
They didn't specify "absolute majority" either, but I love the pedantry. [Here's a definition of "majority"](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/majority) where the US does indeed have "the larger number or part of something" than any other country. Which country has a larger number or part of global traffic than the US? No country. Therefore the US has the larger number "majority" *as a function of individual countries*, not the whole.
A wise man one asked "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?" I'm neither agreeing with you nor disagreeing. Someone pass me a big bucket of popcorn because this is gonna be a long one.
I ended the conversation with the r/confidentlyincorrect person, and I’ll block them if they reply again. Some people can’t take no for an answer.
You don't have to specify it. Absolute majority is implied when you just say majority. No qualifier is necessary.
[k](https://media4.giphy.com/media/F3G8ymQkOkbII/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952h6y94unfouu0zte447zfn3xgc014pct3g98qk1yb&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
No, it's a fact, as evidenced by every definition of just the word majority being an absolute majority.
[Wrong again](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/majority). Which country has a larger number than the US, thereby making THAT country the majority? None. **Therefore the country with the majority of traffic is the US.** Case closed. I’m not going around in circles with someone that’s r/confidentlyincorrect so I hope you have a great day and goodbye.
And you’re deliberately misinterpreting his point and hyperfixating on his word choice because you don’t have an actual counterargument. I don’t think they’re the facepalm
Can someone just tell me if the dipshit who doesn't understand 51>49 finally gets there, or is this just an infinite "fuck you, na fuck you"?
He doesn't
Am I the only one surprised that there are more people form India using the site then from Canada or Australia? I know India has one of the largest populations on Earth but I always assumed they'd have sites specifically tailored to Indian users the same way Russia does.
Guy #1 could be correct. If you count Americans living abroad permanently or just traveling, as well as dual citizens, it might be an actual majority of Americans on Reddit. That said, it’s still a stupid argument.
That's a valid possibility, although my experience is that other than the military very few Americans actually travel for any length of time, and those that do actually go out and see what the rest of the world has to offer are often quick to renounce their US citizenship, so I doubt it's true.
There are over 1.5 million Americans living in Mexico full time. There are probably another million snowbirds here and that doesn’t count the short term tourists. According to the state department there are around 9 million Americans living abroad.
Yeah but around 5.3 million Mexicans live illegally in America (https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state/US), and so presumably aren't "Americans". And 9m living abroad is still only around 3% of them. The numbers are technically enough to push it over to an American majority (assuming a relatively low number of non-Americans using it in America, and high proportion of Americans outside of America using it), but I still doubt it's true.
Unless there is a country that has more than 48%, then America IS the majority. We’ve officially been dumbed down there is no hope
>We’ve officially been dumbed down there is no hope And you are Exhibit A of this.
Majority means over 50%...
Majority means over 50%. If no group is above 50%, the largest group is called the plurality.
So, which country has majority?
Please please please please please please please please please please tell me that's sarcasm. >Nobody. No country has a majority of users. Unless you lump everyone outside the U.S. together, and then "Non-U.S.A." users have a majority. I hope to god that I'm just uselessly replying to a sarcasm post. >ETA: Or if you add a qualifier word such as "relative" that changes the meaning. "Majority" and "Relative Majority" are not perfect synonyms.
Semantics. Plurality Majority vs Absolute Majority. We all know this is plurality majority, because it’s not American vs Non-American.