No. 235 · Evidence · Statistics and Probability
Mean, Median and Mode
“Typical” can mean three different numbers, and each one tells a different story.
In the Almanac
“The average pilot”, 1950 · “Levi Strauss”, 2010
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
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Questions
What is Mean, Median and Mode?
The mean is the ordinary average, the median is the middle value, and the mode is the most common one. They can differ dramatically. A few extreme values pull the mean, while the median stays steady, and the mode reveals what appears most often.
How do you use Mean, Median and Mode?
To use it, always ask which average you are hearing, especially for incomes, prices and returns. Use the median for typical experiences, the mode for popular preferences, and remember that no single summary shows the full spread of the data.
When does Mean, Median and Mode matter?
Mean, Median and Mode is one of the 68 mental models for evidence, the situations where you ask: Is this really true? Within that, it belongs to “Reading the numbers”, alongside Base Rate Fallacy, Bayes’ Theorem and Central Limit Theorem.
What is an example of Mean, Median and Mode?
Two stories show it at work: The average pilot (1950) and Levi Strauss (2010). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Mean, Median and Mode?
Power Law, Personas and Distributions. Mean, Median and Mode itself comes from statistics and probability.