• Bunnylux@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Well, not anything… It’s pretty recognized that in most cases, median provides a more realistic and representative measure than average for this very reason (outliers).

    • wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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      6 months ago

      I lament statements like this because I work with statistics and you can’t just make them say anything. I hate that people use this to dismiss real facts.

      You always have to look at the distribution, which is hard to do well. Simple statistics and averages hide so much detail, it’s often ineptitude more than outright deceit.

      • glimse@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        You can’t make statistics say anything, I agree. What happens is more sinister - cherry picking, misrepresenting, and falsely comparing statistics.

        • wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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          6 months ago

          That does happen a lot unfortunately.

          Usually people only want the statistics that confirm their preexisting positions and pick at anything else or ignore it.