# Spykal's Signature



## 88769 (May 9, 2005)

I quote 'Apparently half the people in the world are below average'

I'm afraid Spykal is wrong, half the worlds population are below the median age. I have consulted them and my mathematicians agree with me (I'm not telling what happened to the last one who disagreed with me) :wink: .


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Pharoah said:


> I quote 'Apparently half the people in the world are below average'
> 
> I'm afraid Spykal is wrong, half the worlds population are below the median age. I have consulted them and my mathematicians agree with me (I'm not telling what happened to the last one who disagreed with me) :wink: .


That's good news...This means that I have a 50\50 chance of being above average. 8)


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## 88741 (May 9, 2005)

No problem ALL the people on here are above average 8)


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

Hold on was Spykal talking about 'Age'? In the case of age could you explain please why you say it is the 'Median'? I am a rather thick mathematician, I wondered if it could be the 'Mean'?


All the best,


John 8)


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Cant possibly be the median


The median in a collection of data is the data point in the middle of the 
list (arranged in order) if the list has an odd number of entries and 
is the average of the two in the middle if the list has an even number 
of entries.


As the list could never possibly be compiled.....................................

George


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi

Just when I thought it was safe to leave the computer and go shopping....what happens......while I'm away I completly miss my Andy Warhol moment.....15 minutes of Fame.


Mike


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## 88769 (May 9, 2005)

Jabber,

to explain, as you are doubtless aware statistics can be used to explain (or prove) anything you like. 

In any set of numbers (the height of Pyramids springs readily to mind) there are three ways of expressing the trends,

The Mean is the average, that would be the sum of all the heights divide by the number of pyramids.

The Mode would be the most frequently occurring number (e.g. most pyramids are 20m high) (e.g 2 pyramids at 12m, 5 at 18m, 8 at 20, 2 at 22, Mode is 20)

The median is as, George explained, the number in the middle (that is to say you need to arrange all the measured heights in order and pick the middle value (e.g. 12, 15, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, the middle number is 20)

Having got to grips with these concepts we can then look at the Range of data and study the variation from the mean and consider distribution and Standard Deviations......


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi

I once heard someone say that statistics should be used like a drunk uses a lamp post, for support, rather than illumination.

Mike


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

Pharoah,

I taught Maths for 36years, including statistics, so I believe I probably have an awareness of the subject!

Best wishes,

John 8)


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

Or, as a recall telling an important customer once, to his utter bewilderment, as I characterised a symmetric bimodal distribution (two superimposed but displaced gaussians)

"The expected value is ....., but it will never occur"

Dave


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## 92046 (May 1, 2005)

*Confusion*

Hi to all,

This subject has the same answer as the definition of infinity,

a point where two parallel lines meet !!!

Colin


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## 88790 (May 9, 2005)

Hi to All,

Or asymptotic curves which also meet at infinity, but are not parallel lines!

John 8) 8)


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## 88724 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Jabber

hyperbolic paraboloid's to you or monkey's saddle, all other forms dont actually meet again and the other's are finite not infinity

Colin ???

Dave 

Did he Never "see"what you meant

George


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## DABurleigh (May 9, 2005)

George,

No. He was sufficiently important he didn't "do" distributions. In fact he cut me short and asked just for the average. I felt evil enough to use the term expected value instead just to get one back.

Dave


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

Statistics are a bit weired e.g. As 23% of all car accidents are caused by drivers who are over the limit means that 76% of all car accidents are caused by sober drivers. Therefore, the government is considering making it a legal requirement for everyone to drive around pissed in an effort to cut down on the accident rate.


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