It’s also critical to understand the datasource. If we’re computing average by crash data, I’m sure I’m not average, but also “know” more people who have died than I am aware of
If their data was from personal surveys, my answer might be 2. The real number is likely higher, and the average is not predictive
Yep.
Averages are just statistics, not real peoples experience. They’re far from useless, but
a nice rich, (ideally) random or otherwise re[presentative sample has way more diverse things to say about the world than a single summary statistic ever can.
It’s also critical to understand the datasource. If we’re computing average by crash data, I’m sure I’m not average, but also “know” more people who have died than I am aware of
If their data was from personal surveys, my answer might be 2. The real number is likely higher, and the average is not predictive
Yep. Averages are just statistics, not real peoples experience. They’re far from useless, but a nice rich, (ideally) random or otherwise re[presentative sample has way more diverse things to say about the world than a single summary statistic ever can.