"the average Internet user, according to the same statistics, also has 2.8 children who are using the Internet as well"

in the best case, call it 1.4 children per person to account for two parents both claiming the same 2.8 children ... wouldn't that mean the average number of children outnumber the average number of internet user by a factor of 1.4, skewing the average internet user to be their children instead? it makes my head hurt to think about. intuitively it seems wrong, but with the "average" part thrown in, I'm not entirely certain it's mathematically impossible

Editors Note: 1.6? WHO SAID 1.6? LOOK A PURPLE MOOSE!

I'm not clear on what the question really is, but does the problem have anything to do with the fact that 2.8 divided by 2 is 1.4, not 1.6?

People don't understand either statistics or language. I'm sure what was intended was something more along the lines of "Internet users, on average, have 2.8 Internet-using children". However, it seems like a made-up statistic. Source?

Let's assume that every child has 2 parents. p=2c
Let's define total of childless internet users as m.

((m + p)/(m + p)) x 2.8 = c = p/2

(m + p)/(m + p) = p/1.4

m+p = p(m+p)/1.4

1.4(m+p) = p(m+p)

p=1.4, c=2.8, m is undefined. This is the only solution that fits the text. Of course, since it is physically impossible to have 1.4 parents and 2.8 children we know that solution does not exist. For starters my 3 year old internet user has two internet-using parents.

Maybe they meant "internet service account holder" since that would require one to be at least 18 in most cirucumstances.

"Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
- Autobiography of Mark Twain"

'Nuff Said.

-Zeke