Saturday, September 15, 2007

Averages can be misleading

According to a BBC News story, a researcher in Britain claims that having an older sibling, particularly a brother, can stunt your growth, and that children from larger families (4 or more children) tend to be shorter than average. From my own experience, I beg leave to doubt this. I am the oldest of five, and 6ft 3in. My next two brothers are also over 6 feet tall, while my youngest brother is 6ft 7in. My sister, the youngest of us, is 5ft 10in. Obviously we are all far above average!

4 comments:

jb said...

But were you aware that the majority of people have an above-average number of feet...?
(A single person with only 1 foot lowers the average infinitesimally below 2.)

Private Beach said...

I suppose having only one foot would count as a non-standard deviation. It's a pretty mean thing to happen to someone, though.

jb said...

Ouch, that hurts...

jb said...

I got into serious trouble with The Boss for suggesting that - should Heather Mills take Sir Paul to court - she wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

I'll get me coat....