• feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        The worst thing about that XKCD comic is that I can’t get annoyed about seeing it for the thousandth time without risking a recursive loop of comic posting, me getting annoyed, comic posting to explain why I’m wrong to be annoyed, more annoyance… it’s a problem, though admittedly not my most pressing one.

        • postmateDumbass@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Behind closed doors on Greek Row those Sigmas and Taus … let’s just say they apply to an entirely different distribution, if you know what I’m saying.

      • Deebster@lemmy.ml
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        2 months ago

        Ackchyually, they never said which average they meant, you just assumed mean.

        • Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de
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          2 months ago

          Yes. In a normal, or Gaussian, distribution, the data is symmetrically distributed around the mean and thus mean (average value), mode (most frequent value) and median (middle value) all fall on the same point, which is the highest point of the curve.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Consider an exam in which there are two questions: one very easy and one very hard. You’ll get a supermajority of people who answer the first question and two tiny tails - zero correct, two correct - such that the mode is very high and the outlayer groups are very small.

          Then well over half the people are in the median and mean.

      • Aceticon@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        True, but those who know what “median” means probably also know what a “quartile” means, so if I used “median” it would’ve made my comment less of an “obvious, duh!” thing and spoil the unstated point I’m making as well as the joke.

        Best leave the mathematical incorrectness there to preserve the feeling of obviousness.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Only all the children in Lake Wobegon are above average. It’s balanced out by them all turning into idiots when they become adults.

    • doingthestuff@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Everyone should be in the top! Everyone should have unlimited resources from disabled addicts to military bioweapons developers - it should be a flat line, a plateau!

      • CaptnNMorgan@reddthat.com
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        2 months ago

        Bioweapon developers should be shot in the street. Disabled addicts should be provided the proper help they need; and the education should be changed so there are less disabled addicts and bioweapon developers alike.

  • son_named_bort@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I was skeptical of these numbers until I did the research. It’s even worse than I thought. Did you know that only 20% of students test in the top quintile? Is our children learning?

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      One could construct tests where this isn’t a given. Create an exam with one really easy question and one really hard question. You’ll end up with a huge spike in the center and two tiny tails. The top quintile of correct answers (<=1.6 correct answers) will be vanishingly small.

  • niktemadur@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I can almost see a facebook post along the lines of:
    One doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand how terrible things are, when fully 25% of the population are in the bottom quartile.

    • IvanOverdrive@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      25%!? That’s nothing. Half of people are below average. That’s twice of what you quoted!

  • Nobody@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I’m surprised it’s only 25%. These days, I’d figure at least 40% would be in the lowest quartile. Has anyone checked the math on this?

    • MJKee9@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      My state’a standardized test says kids are “at risk” if they aren’t in the top 40% of the test. The top 50% could all be traditional “a-b” students. But because they weren’t in the top 80% of a-b students they are at risk for failing academically… It’s so asinine and disheartening. The last half of the year is devoted to this idiotic test. Kids could be learning stuff that will enrich themselves… Instead they are learnig how to take a test better.

  • Margot Robbie@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    But then again, 25 percent of American students are also in the top quartile on standardized tests, so it evens out.

    • mPony@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      People understand “glass half empty / glass half full”, but they can’t quite grasp a bell curve

  • CluckN@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Nice try everyone knows that the soyjack is on one end and the chad is at the other.