7 ms·

How would you interpret “+/- 10 years”?

• wingerlang 4y ago
  I don’t think they are comparable really. 10+ years means over ten years. +/- 10 years is an addition/subtraction and making a range.
• simonh 4y ago
  +10 years could be interpreted as 10 years in the future, and makes perfect sense in that context, but -10 years for the past seems weird. I'm not sure why.
• Macha 4y ago
  As a margin of error. "this tree was planted 200 years ago, +/- 10 years" -> the tree was planted between 190 and 210 years ago. "this comet will next be seen in 100 years, +/- 10" -> The comet will visible between 90 and 110 years from now.
  • ben174 4y ago
    In English, "give or take".
  • wbercx 4y ago
    Yeah, interesting. In The Netherlands it is commonly used to mean "more or less", or "approximately", unless it is used in formulas.
    • davidbanham 4y ago
      For “approximately 10 years” I would note it as ~10. Native Australian English speaker.