| ??? 08/07/06 18:42 Read: times |
#121801 - Math Responding to: ???'s previous message |
Richard Erlacher said:
As was stated, the mean is the sum of the incomes divided by the number of incomes. The median is the highest plus the lowest, divided by two.
If Bill Gates walks into a room full of, say, 99 folks whose income is at poverty level, say, $18-20K for a family of 4, the median is increased by a whopping amount, while the mean, while significantly increased, is not as significantly impacted. The median is that number for which half the data values are lower and half are higher. If Gates walks into a room of 99 people at the poverty level, the median income is barely affected. The mean income suddenly jumps to millions of dollars. |
