I have never grasp what it means to say “they are in the top 30th percentile” or “this category is in the 90% range of percentiles” feels like a dumb questions but I just don’t get it
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If you’re in the top 30th percentile that means if you were to order everyone by rank, then take the group of people starting at the very top and ending with you, that would be 30% of the people.
A percentile is just the percentage of things that fall below or equal a certain value.
For example, if a person were the 69th smartest person in a room of 100 people, they would fall into the 32nd percentile because they are smarter than 31 other people (plus the original person 32/100 is 32%). They would also fall into the 50th percentile because 32 is within 50. That person would fall into any percentile that doesnt exceed 69.
You can also do this in the reverse in the case which you did in the first example you used. Saying someone is in the top 30th percentile for the intelligence example I used would mean that they are within the 30 smartest people in the room.
Lets say you find 100 people and line them up according to height, shortest to tallest.
The 90th percentile of this group is the height of the 90th person, since 90% of the group is that height or shorter. Likewise, 10% of the group is taller than that height; this is the top 10th percentile. The 50th percentile is also called the “median;” it’s the value that 50% of samples are greater than and 50% of samples are less than.
If you’re in the top 30th percentile that means if you were to order everyone by rank, then take the group of people starting at the very top and ending with you, that would be 30% of the people.
A percentile is just the percentage of things that fall below or equal a certain value.
For example, if a person were the 69th smartest person in a room of 100 people, they would fall into the 32nd percentile because they are smarter than 31 other people (plus the original person 32/100 is 32%). They would also fall into the 50th percentile because 32 is within 50. That person would fall into any percentile that doesnt exceed 69.
You can also do this in the reverse in the case which you did in the first example you used. Saying someone is in the top 30th percentile for the intelligence example I used would mean that they are within the 30 smartest people in the room.
Cent = 100 Percent = per 100
Top 10 is everyone that scored better than the other 90. Bottom 10 is everyone that scored worse than the other 90.
Bottom 90 is everyone except the top 10. Top 90 is everyone except the bottom 10.
It’s inconsistent.
In some cases, to be in the 10th percentile means ~10% of everyone is worse than you. You’re in the *bottom* 10%.
In other cases, to be in the 10th percentile means that ~90% of everyone is worse than you; you’re in the *top* 10%. Sometimes they specifically clarify “upper 10th percentile” but a lot of the time they don’t.
This is because *a lot* of people don’t understand math, so they use math words wrong, and those words end up taking on multiple, contradictory meanings in common use.
Lets say you find 100 people and line them up according to height, shortest to tallest.
The 90th percentile of this group is the height of the 90th person, since 90% of the group is that height or shorter. Likewise, 10% of the group is taller than that height; this is the top 10th percentile. The 50th percentile is also called the “median;” it’s the value that 50% of samples are greater than and 50% of samples are less than.
Cent = 100 Percent = per 100
Top 10 is everyone that scored better than the other 90. Bottom 10 is everyone that scored worse than the other 90.
Bottom 90 is everyone except the top 10. Top 90 is everyone except the bottom 10.
It’s inconsistent.
In some cases, to be in the 10th percentile means ~10% of everyone is worse than you. You’re in the *bottom* 10%.
In other cases, to be in the 10th percentile means that ~90% of everyone is worse than you; you’re in the *top* 10%. Sometimes they specifically clarify “upper 10th percentile” but a lot of the time they don’t.
This is because *a lot* of people don’t understand math, so they use math words wrong, and those words end up taking on multiple, contradictory meanings in common use.
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