Summary Statistics

  • Lyric copyright ©2011, 2024 by Lawrence Mark Lesser.
    May sing to the tune of "Mean" (Taylor Swift)

    You.......know the average lies with lots of skew among your exes.
    You.......could sum up and divide for a measure of center.
    You.....know "all too well" to check the shape of the data before
    You......choose to use the mean.
    'Cause it can get pulled out by just one single point,
    And you don't know what you don't know....

    CHORUS:
    Sometimes data have a real asymmetry
    Or values that are really quite extreme.
    In those cases, better use the median
    If the middle is what you need - that's not gonna be the mean!

    That won't be the mean with outliers, just forget it,
    Do you see just what I mean & mean & mean & mean? (repeat chorus)

  • Lyric © 9/8/2011 Lawrence M. Lesser
    may sing to the tune of the same-titled song by Suzanne Vega and Stephen Addabbo from the 1986 film Pretty in Pink

    If you want me, you can find me
    Left of center, down the long scale:
    In the skewness, down the left side,
    In the sparseness of the long tail.

    When they ask me "What shape describes your graph?",
    I always answer: "Left-skewed (left-skewed)."
    I think they know that my skew is negative;
    I think they think my mode is plain rude.

    But I'm only in the long tail of the density,
    Far away from the modal view--
    And if you want me, you can find me
    Left of center, wondering about μ,
    wondering about μ.....

  • Words & music © 2014-2015 Lawrence Mark Lesser

    She tries to "fix" me or she's silent all night;
    Neither's what I want, but on av'rage, it's all right.
    It's like my head's in an oven and my feet in a block of ice:
    The temperature on av'rage is one that would suffice!
    At my center, a funny valentine
    Says.... "on av'rage, I'm fine!"

    I can be so left-brained and hardly feel my heart;
    I can be so right-brained and be taken off guard.
    The sides of my brain never align
    But on av'rage, I'm fine!

    BRIDGE: Average manages to only go so far--
    Gotta know my range when I play a mean guitar!

    I have a broken heart and ache in my soul,
    But have a brand new car and a million-dollar home.
    I'm poor in spirit, but I can buy good wine....
    On av'rage, I'm fine!

    Half of you love this tune and say it's worth a prize;
    The rest find it worthless and something to despise!
    Some give ovations, some let tomatoes fly:
    Guess on average.... it's fine!

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