what is the physical meaning of "average"? In other words, what do averages tell us?

Answer 1

Averages tell us the general norm, or approximate middle for a data set. But really, this may be meaningless without knowing another piece of information like standard deviation, which gives the variation within the distribution (are most of the individual numbers close to one another, or relatively far apart?).

If you have two numbers 1 and 100, the average is 50... and the standard deviation is very high, meaning not only are these numbers far apart, which makes the average meaningless) but should a third number be introduced, there is not much assurance that it will be near the average either.

If you have an average with a low standard deviation then you can expect that most numbers are close to that average, and the occurrence of a number deviating greatly from that average is uncommon... the greater the deviation, the more uncommon it is.

Once you have an average you can begin to expect certain results, and thus begin to apply label to things when they are less than or more than expected.

In a practical application, most companies want to design products that appeal to the average person within their target audience, as this is what will ensure greatest number of sales.

Answer 2

not to big, not to little. not to high, not to low. not to short, not to tall....you get the picture. if you look at ( A GOOD LOOKING PERSON ), for example, each feature in nondescript. all parts of the face are (not to big,not to little). another words nothing stands out, making the appearance pleasant to the eye. not so much with small eyes, large forehead or big ears. same with i.q.....to low, noticeable, to high, same thing. what ever it is that is not average, stands out, people notice, for this reason alone. good or bad?. not really, it's just that people notice the difference....a big nose for ex sample is not bad or even a problem, but because it's difference people don't like it,......funny how that works. good question....star.