Stephen Gould's The Median Isn T The Message

Mean, median and mode are some of the basic concepts we learn to calculate in math class starting in fifth grade. So how is it that we still do not know how to correctly interpret these averages? In Stephen Gould’s The Median Isn’t the Message, he describes the importance of correctly interpreting statistics. Without his knowledge of statistics, Gould could have led himself to believe that he was going to die from his cancer, mesothelioma, in 8 months. However, through extensive research about survival rates and various factors, he discovered that it was likely for him to live a long life. In this review, we are going to take a look at how Gould came to this conclusion, why the median is not the message and what is. In statistics, an average can be referring to three different things: mean, median or mode. A mean adds all of the data values together and divide them by the total number of data values. On the other hand, the median is simply the middle value of the data setting meaning half of all scores are lower and half are higher. Mode is the most common value in the data set. However, these averages can be very misleading, especially median and mean. For instance, if a statement that says: the average duration of unemployment in the US is 16.6 weeks and 8.3 weeks, most people think this is impossible, there can’t be two different averages. However, both statements are true because one describes the median (8.3 weeks) and the other describes the mean (16.6 …show more content…
Instead, we need to look at the variation in the data because that more accurately represents reality. Statistics is therefore imperative in understanding the data given by medians and modes. It helps provide a working understanding of how these two concepts actually apply to our daily lives. Since most people are not knowledgable in statistics, should doctors give patients statistics on