• zeca@lemmy.eco.br
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        11 days ago

        neither vague nor a definition

        average is the sum of a list of values divided by the size of the list.

        • rockerface 🇺🇦@lemm.ee
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          11 days ago

          Well, if you look at the average salary across the whole world, an overwhelming majority of people doesn’t make enough money to survive, so there’s that

        • masterspace@lemmy.ca
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          11 days ago

          No. If you’re going to be pedantic, at least be right.

          Average

          noun

          1. a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number.

          The term average, inherently refers to at least three different ways to calculate the central value in a data set. What you’re talking about is mean, but it can also mean mode, or median, and there are other, even, more complicated calculations than those depending on your context.

          So yes, average, is an inherently vague and hard to define term.

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average

        • thisfro@slrpnk.net
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          11 days ago

          I was under the impression mean and average were used interchangeably, but I’m not a native speaker.

          What I meant was mean salary indeed. But median would probably be more adequate.

      • thisfro@slrpnk.net
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        11 days ago

        For what of the list?

        It also depends on the definition of each, but I mean in a basic sense.