• Sneezycat@sopuli.xyz
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    3 months ago

    Half of all women have higher than average testosterone levels, that is how averages work.

    I agree with your point and with what you said, but I want to clarify something:

    That’s not how averages work. That’s how median works. For example:

    -Person A: 4 units testosterone

    -Person B: 4 units testosterone

    -Person C: 7 units testosterone

    Mean: (4+4+7)/3= 5 units

    Median: 4 units

    So 2 people would be under the average because one person shoots the average up.

    • ylph@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The word average is often used to mean mean, however it can be used less specifically - median is a type of average as well.

      From Merriam-Webster definition of average:

      1a) a single value (such as a mean, mode, or median) that summarizes or represents the general significance of a set of unequal values

      Also, things like testosterone levels in a population usually follow a normal distribution, where both mean and median are the same, so the distinction is often meaningless for practical purposes

      • Sneezycat@sopuli.xyz
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        3 months ago

        Still, that’s not how the mean or the mode work. And one could argue a group of Olympic athletes is not a big enough population to assume a normal distribution. But yeah, you’re also right.

    • LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      True of course haha. But among top athletes I’d expect the vast majority to be above (or below) average outliers in various metrics.

      To add, the allegation was made by the International Boxing Association which is apparently controlled by the Russian plutocrats and gangsters.

      It’s really a good example that it takes more energy to refute false allegations than to make them.

    • Plopp@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I don’t think there’s anyone out there who doesn’t know how averages and medians work, but thanks for telling us. I believe the person you’re replying to was just being sloppy with terminology, as is very common. Their point still stands.

      • Sneezycat@sopuli.xyz
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        3 months ago

        I’ll say I didn’t know “average” could also mean median and mode as another comment pointed, maybe I wouldn’t have commented then.

        It’s common to be confused over statistics, as they aren’t very intuitive, so I just wanted to clarify for whoever needs it.

      • LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Wow, where do you work? Where do you live? Have you not have a conversation with a member of the general public? There are people who can barely read. Not understanding statistics and averages is pretty common, and doing a quick summary to make sure everyone is on the same page is pretty good communication.