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I dont get it.
Should be 99.0001 lbs or some such.
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OK, so 100ib of potatoes, 99% water.
That means that 1% is not water, and that weighs 1lb.
If you reduce the water content to 98%, that doesn't affect the non-water part, so 1lb of the potatoes is now 2% of the total.
If 2% of the weight is 1lb, then the total weight is now 50lb.
For 97% you get 33.3lb, 96% gives 25lb, and so on.
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"To 98%" of what is the question. The original weight or the final weight.
That wasnt specified. 
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Quote: You let them dehydrate until they're 98 percent water.
That's pretty clear!
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Nothing is clear in the land of language....
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As they say, English is important, but Math is importanter.
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Quote: "let them dehydrate until"
The trick is hidden right there. Our brain expects the word to be "rehydrate", so we think it's rehydrating the original 1% dehydrated solids.
Caught out by being too quick ...
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Forgive me for being thick but I cannot get my head round that. In 100lb there is 1lb of starch and 99 lbs of water (yes?). So if you lose 1% of the water, isn't that just 1lb less than before?
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OK, so 100ib of potatoes, 99% water.
That means that 1% is not water, and that weighs 1lb.
If you reduce the water content to 98%, that doesn't affect the non-water part, so 1lb of the potatoes is now 2% of the total.
If 2% of the weight is 1lb, then the total weight is now 50lb.
For 97% you get 33.3lb, 96% gives 25lb, and so on.
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 I knew it would be simple.
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It's simple when you see it! 
If I recall correctly, I scratched my head a fair amount the first time I saw this one.
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: So if you lose 1% of the water,
That's the point that sets you in the wrong direction. You didn't lose 1% of the water, but rather, changed the calculated (relative) percent of water to the whole, not to itself.
(yes - you had other explanations, but this is just a thought-process notice)
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Thank you, you are of course correct. That is exactly why I went down a blind alley.
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Richard MacCutchan wrote: So if you lose 1% of the water, isn't that just 1lb less than before?
lets work through this.
if this were the case.
100lb total, 1lb startch, 99lb water
water = 99/100 = 99% of total
- 1lb water = 1lb startch, 98lb water, total 99lb
water = 98/99 = 98.9898989... %
it is not 98.0% yet.
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I think you also misunderstand. See the explanation by OriginalGriff above.
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I was quoting @Richard-MacCutchan and was trying to help explain (to myself aswell) that losing only 1lb water would NOT give 98.0% but only works out to 98.98...%
and that the correct number is something else.
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You are trying to answer a different question. The water content is reduced to only 98%, so the amount of starch is now 2% of the total weight. And if 1lb of starch is 2% then the total weight is 50lbs. Hence the title "the potato paradox".
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A:
100lb total, 1lb startch, 99lb water
water = 99/100 = 99% of total
B:
MATH YOUR BRAIN WANTS TO DO BECAUSE OF 100lb:
100lb total, 2lb startch, 98lb water
water = 98/100 = 98% of total
so far the math makes sense, now the thing is; you did not gain a pound of starch. The startch stays the same so the final answer is:
50lb total, 1lb starch, 49lb water
water = 98/100 = 98% of total
Norm
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Quote: No googling, ok.
Ok, but than please ask it for 45.359237 kg  
It does not solve my Problem, but it answers my question
modified 19-Jan-21 21:04pm.
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OK - the new weight is 22.679618kg.
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That's more lettuce than potato. A potato will clock in at roughly 75% water (just a tad more than a human).
Still a nice example where math beats intuition
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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These are 'mathematical' potatoes.
But feel free to substitute with jellyfish if you want to.
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Could as well have chosen a mathematical ball of lead with 99% water-content.
--edit
It is misleading, since we have some "experience" with potatoes not shrinking 50% when they lay in the basement.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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That's because they start out at 80% water, not 99%.
And because nobody regularly checks their spuds for water content... 
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