Reaction of a certain article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reaction of a certain article - Essay Example The median is a measure of central tendency in that it is a statistic that generalizes the typical values of members of a sample or population. The median as a measure of central tendency and location parameter is robust and resistant to the effects of outliers, compared to the mean and mode. A data set can be symmetric or skewed. When a data set is symmetric, the right and left hand sides of the distribution are to a great extent balanced around the mean (Stuart 62). Typically, a symmetric distribution is one in which the mean, mode and median are equal or almost equal. The left and right tails of the distribution, therefore, have more or less the same length. On the other hand, when a data set is skewed, the right and left hand sides of the distribution are not balanced around the mean (Rider 149). The measures of central tendency associated with the distribution also tend to be unequal. Furthermore, the tails of the distribution tend to be unequal; one longer than the other. Generally, the skewness of a distribution may hint to the presence of outliers or measurement errors. In his article, The Median Isnt the Message, Jay Gould rightly defines median as â€Å"the half-way point† (Gould par. 2). Gould also rightly notes that the median is a measure of central tendency which, like the mean, can be exploited to one’s advantage when generalizing situations (Gould par. 2). In his article, Gould seeks to convince his audience that the median is not a perfect measure of a distribution and may be subject to misinterpretation. The author also seeks to clarify that in as much as the median is a measure of central tendency, its interpretation depends on whether or not the distribution is normal or skewed, and, if skewed, the direction of the skew. In his case for example, he would have assumed that he had just about eight months to live owing to his medical