Why the Average Can Mislead You, Even When It’s Right

Ten residents, one tower of coins, and an average that says the whole town is almost eleven times richer. This animated explainer follows one invented town through four ways an average can mislead you: one giant outlier, two streets with identical summaries, an average of averages, and a headline that hides a pay cut. Then come three simple questions that catch every one of them, and what to show when you are the one presenting a number. All people, places, workshops, headlines and income amounts in this video are invented teaching examples, measured in credits per person per month. They are not real-world salary data. Every number in the film is calculated from the accompanying production data. Chapters 0:00 One town, two stories 0:41 One pile, ten equal shares 1:30 One giant, one million 2:22 Meet the middle 3:10 Don't fire the mean 3:48 Same numbers, different streets 4:41 Averages of averages 5:31 Up on average, down for most 6:18 Three questions 7:06 Spot the trick 7:54 Give the number some company 8:31 The people behind the summary