word choice - Correct use of "x times lower"


In scientific writing numbers are often compared and if something is twice the size of something else, let's say



A is 13 to 17 times the size of B



this can be written as



A is 13–17 times higher/larger than B



I often see cases where people turn this around and say



B is 13–17 times lower/smaller than A



and where turning A and B around makes little logical sense, i.e. the order of B and A is logically correct. The problem is then, how would one best rewrite this since "x times" will, at least mathematically when x > 1, always be larger and not smaller?


Edit: I changed my example to highlight the problems with numbers other than those easily turned into fractions such as half, quarter etc.




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