Bad editing

We started ordering our Christmas gifts last night. It's amazing how much more efficient the online stores have become. Amazon.com is even beating next-day shipping!


In other bits of bad editing, let's look at the math-impaired journalists at the Boston Globe with just one story:

The [rubber] squares are up to three times more expensive than concrete slabs ... (sidebar)

The rubber sidewalks cost about $15 per square foot, compared with about $10 per square foot for concrete ...

.. rubber, which costs about a third more than concrete ...

Some of this can be explained away, as in a case where one number does not include shipping costs. Let's assume the figure for concrete is accurate, at least. Then, for rubber, within the same package, we're facing numbers of

$13

$15

$30

So much for precision journalism.