I really don't mean to pick on Rachel Martin in particular... she's not the most egregious of the insufferable NPR talking heads. But is it possible that she doesn't get the idea of percentage change? If you listen to the interview, yes, it is... (italics added)...
MARTIN: So we are of course talking because it has been a rollercoaster over the past couple of days. Yesterday was the single largest point drop in stock market history. What's going on? How are you reading this?
RITHOLTZ: So let's put all of this in a little bit of broader context. Yes, yesterday was the largest single point drop. But you have to recognize this in percentage terms because when the markets fell, the most they ever fell, in 1987, in one day, 22 percent, it was about 600 points. So this turned out to be the 108th worst single day. That's bad, but it really isn't terrible compared to what it could be. If yesterday looked like 1987, we would've been down closer to 6,000 or 7,000 or points, not a thousand points.
MARTIN: Right. There's so much more trading that happens. It's so much larger.
RITHOLTZ: And everything is worth so much more...
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