The dangers of using language to describe chance

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Using language to describe probability, risk or chance leads to misunderstanding between author and reader and between difference audience groups.

In the 1960s, “a 30% chance of success” was changed to “a fair chance of success” meaning “not a good chance”, cc but was read as “a decent chance of success” by JFK leading to military action.

A “common side effect” of a drug is defined as being between 1 in 100 to 1 in 10, but could be misinterpreted by a patient as “incredibly likely”, but for a medical practitioner who understands that side effects are rare, 1 in 10 is indeed common.

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The dangers of using language to describe chance