Variance and standard deviation gets a lot of hate here, that I don't think it deserves. It really does have nice properties, generally nicer than the MAD. Sq

Variance and standard deviation gets a lot of hate here, that I don't think it deserves. It really does have nice properties, generally nicer than the MAD. Squaring feels to me much less of a hack than the absolute value. The problem that most people don't quite understand it is certainly true, but that's as much a problem with the people as the method.