• penguin@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    74
    ·
    1 year ago

    My favourite way to teach how averages aren’t always the perfect metric is:

    Most people have higher than the average number of arms.

          • irmoz@reddthat.com
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            14
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            For various reasons, yes, many are missing one or more testicles

            I’d say testicular cancer and castration, voluntary or not, account for many of that number

            • bric@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              2
              ·
              1 year ago

              Right, but is it more than 2 missing testicles per 102 men? Because that’s what it would take to make the average less than one

                • bric@lemm.ee
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  2
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  What numbers, because while it’s not exactly easy to google for, the numbers I’m seeing don’t line up with that. Undescended testicles are relatively common, but that’s fixable by surgery and they aren’t missing, while testicular cancer, surgical castration (not chemical), and transgender surgeries all seem to account for far less than 1% of the population.