Why 98% success is not good enough in high-stakes situations
By
@WhyNotHugo
Summary
This article challenges the perception that 98% is an impressive success rate by contrasting contexts where it works (lotteries, exams) versus contexts where it's unacceptable (food safety, payroll, restaurant payments). It argues that percentages must be evaluated relative to the stakes involved — high-stakes failures make even 2% error rates catastrophic.
Source
Hacker NewsWhy 98% success is not good enough in high-stakes situationswhynothugo.nlKey quotes
· 5 pulled98% sounds like a lot.
If someone wins the lottery 98% of the times they play, they are clearly blessed.
But a restaurant where clients don't get food poisoning 98% of time is getting people sick on a monthly (or even weekly) basis.
If an employer pays their employees 98% of the times, I definitely wouldn't want to work there.
98% is great for exceptionally good things, like dram
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