“The average IQ is 100.”
Usage Entry 1454 / 1605 60-second read
Mean vs. Average
The technical term versus the everyday term — usually the same thing, but not always.
The comparisoni
“The (arithmetic) MEAN IQ is 100 — and "average" colloquially means the mean. But "average" can also colloquially mean median or mode in different contexts.”
The ruleii
¶
MEAN = sum/n. AVERAGE = colloquially mean.
MEAN refers to the arithmetic mean (sum divided by count) by default. AVERAGE colloquially means the same — but in everyday speech can refer to any measure of central tendency. In statistics, always say MEDIAN, MODE, or MEAN explicitly.
Memory aidiii
Remember it like this
Be specific in stats.