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Not an average, but their argument is salvageable: In a perfect world, exactly half of a population will be (equal to or) below any average when frequency is a
by chmod775 4y ago
Not an average, but their argument is salvageable:
In a perfect world, exactly half of a population will be (equal to or) below any average when frequency is a normal distribution. Like IQ scores. So when they say "half of the population is below average [IQ]", it's not complete nonsense.
- shkkmo 4y agoYes, there are absolutely many distributions where the assertion is correct. It is that fact, that the truth is contingent on the nature of the distribution, which prompts the comment that "half are below average" is not necessarily true but only true contingent on the distribution of "level of expertise". While that is a very vaguely defined term which is hard to measure accurately, it seem likely that it does not follow a normal distribution but is rather has a bulge at the lower end and have a long tail at the upper end. If this hand-wavey distribution is accepted, that would likely mean that fewer than half are above average. But again, that is contingent on the distribution and not a necessary truth.