Tyranny of averages

The tyranny of averages is a phrase used in applied statistics to describe the often overlooked fact that the mean does not provide any information about the shape of the probability distribution of a data set or skewness, and that decisions or analysis based on only the mean—as opposed to median and standard deviation—may be faulty. A UN Development Program press release discusses a real-world example:

Tyranny of averages

The tyranny of averages is a phrase used in applied statistics to describe the often overlooked fact that the mean does not provide any information about the shape of the probability distribution of a data set or skewness, and that decisions or analysis based on only the mean—as opposed to median and standard deviation—may be faulty. A UN Development Program press release discusses a real-world example: