NewsBiscuit : Think tank report to claim 50% of everything 'below average'

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Think tank report to claim 50% of everything 'below average'

(10 posts) (7 voices)

Started 7 months ago by Mandy Lifeboat
Latest reply from beau-jolly

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Mandy Lifeboat

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.

Posted 7 months ago #
Sir Lupus

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nice. averages are much abused and confused in the media. "shock as some children are revealed to be below average at exams" - no, not a shock, that's just how the statistical concept of "average" works...

Posted 7 months ago #
Lucy4

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This isn't funny

Posted 7 months ago #
Yikes

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Well I thought it was funny for the same reason as Sir Lupus.

And certainly a well above average ticker as against some of the others from the past couple of days :)

Posted 7 months ago #
Mandy Lifeboat

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Thnakas Sir L and Yikes. Press reporting of averages is so frustrating. I did know of a bloke who when asked by his local press how many below average GP's there were in his area (he was in a senior NHS position) dead panned the repsonse 'about a half fo them'. Not sure if they got it.

Lucy - oh well can't win them all. Will try something like 'Assad causes confusion by defecting to rebels'instead next time...

Posted 7 months ago #
Golgo13

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It doesn't necessarily follow that 50% of a group are below average.

Posted 7 months ago #
Mandy Lifeboat

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Golgo - are you thinking mean, mode, median there?

Posted 7 months ago #
moanygit

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Take 4 numbers, 10, 7, 1, 6
Average = (10 + 7 + 1 + 6)/4 = 6

only (25%) of these numbers are below average...

Posted 7 months ago #
Golgo13

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I think that unless otherwise specified, most people would take "average" to be the arithmetic mean, and so, as moanygit points out, one extremely thick kid could be the only one who was below the average IQ in that class, for example.

Posted 7 months ago #
beau-jolly

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Points above taken, but what always gets me is when workers go on strike because they want to earn the "average wage". As soon as they achieve their goal and get the rise the average goes up so they have to strike again...and again...

Also, one Abromovitch in the mix and the majority become below average.

Posted 7 months ago #

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