An Ode to Median

If a billionaire moves to your neighborhood, the average resident suddenly becomes ultrarich. Sadly for you, it doesn’t mean you can stop budgeting for rent.

Averages can be wildly misleading if incorrectly used. A company might claim “the average salary increased by 30%”, but if one exec got a million dollar raise (ahem) while the rest stayed the same, that number is meaningless. That’s why analysts often also look at medians, distributions, and real impact, rather than trusting a single shiny statistic.

Next time someone brags about an impressive “average,” ask: “But what does that mean for the typical person?” Because sometimes, averages tell fairy tales.