Sheffield gains most from overseas students.

we should all go the extra mile and make them as welcome as possible.

That is difficult when newspapers like the Sun, Daily Mail and Daily Express, and politicians spout out xenophobic nonsense, making out foreigners to be enemies, and people take their cue from these. Foreigners know how we think as they can readily access these outpourings of xenophobic junk on the Internet.

---------- Post added 14-01-2018 at 09:37 ----------

 

Hilarious.

By definition 50% of anything measured is below the average and 50% is above. That's pretty much what the word average means.

Yes it is hilarious as I know well what average means and you also know I do. What you fail to answer is the other point on how you has obtained the statistics on how the population have been measured for their intelligence when no survey has ever been done, as pointed out in post 52.

You stated: "I think that 50% of the population are of below average intelligence" so without statistics it is just a guess. Did you take into account that around 18% of that population is also aged 15 years or lower and will not have finished schooling? So.. can you provide any stats to back up that 50% thinking guess as it seems very dodgy?

No survey needs to have been done. By definition in a (non homogenous) group 50% of the group will be below and 50% above the average. It's inherent in the very definition of what an average is.

I do think it, and I think it because it's a statistical certainty, a truism, it was in fact a little bit of a play on words based on what average means.

No survey needs to have been done. By definition in a (non homogenous) group 50% of the group will be below and 50% above the average. It's inherent in the very definition of what an average is.

I do think it, and I think it because it's a statistical certainty, a truism, it was in fact a little bit of a play on words based on what average means.

Saying 50% will be below the average intelligence level is different to saying 50% of people have below average intelligence.

No survey needs to have been done. By definition in a (non homogenous) group 50% of the group will be below and 50% above the average. It's inherent in the very definition of what an average is.

I do think it, and I think it because it's a statistical certainty, a truism, it was in fact a little bit of a play on words based on what average means.

How many arms does the average person have?

What is the average shoe size in France compared to the UK?

Just using the word average is not sufficiently accurate in describing any population. It often works in conversation only because there is context in which describes the population.

The use of "average" without qualification is at best be inaccurate, often misleading and at worst wrong and has no place in mathematics, science, etc..

Average intelligence is a ridiculously inaccurate term, at least the very flawed IQ measurement explains itself.

A "...statistical certainty..."cannot be a "...truism..." neither is there one single definition of average.

The lecturer for our computing course asked the two questions above at the very beginning of our course. She then asked us to draft routines in computer language so that the computer could come up with the answer and collected in the answers after an hour of feverish activity. She groaned then laughed.

At the end of the year she asked the same questions. We all handed in blank paper within 2 minutes. She was very pleased.

The use of average in normal conversation simply means mean. It's quite accurate enough. If I'd wanted to say mode or median I would have.

Yes, measuring intelligence, even defining it is problematic. But whatever definition was used, and no matter how accurately it could be measured, there would be an average and 50% of the population would be below that value, and 50% above it.

Obviously number of arms is a discrete measurement, totally unlike intelligence. Unless you want to start counting the loss of a portion of arm.

Average shoe size I don't see the problem with though. If you want to use shoe size as a proxy for foot size, which isn't a discrete measurement. I don't know if it tells you much of interest though.

Foot size, like intelligence would most likely appear to as a bell curve if graphed, the french/uk bell curve might show a slight difference, so might the intelligence curve. But either way, 50% of people have feet smaller than the average, and 50% larger. (That applies to a non discrete, accurate measurement of course, not shoe size).

---------- Post added 14-01-2018 at 15:35 ----------

Saying 50% will be below the average intelligence level is different to saying 50% of people have below average intelligence.

Only if you choose to misinterpret what "below average" means.

The use of average in normal conversation simply means mean. It's quite accurate enough. If I'd wanted to say mode or median I would have.

 

Yes, measuring intelligence, even defining it is problematic. But whatever definition was used, and no matter how accurately it could be measured, there would be an average and 50% of the population would be below that value, and 50% above it.

 

Obviously number of arms is a discrete measurement, totally unlike intelligence. Unless you want to start counting the loss of a portion of arm.

 

Average shoe size I don't see the problem with though. If you want to use shoe size as a proxy for foot size, which isn't a discrete measurement. I don't know if it tells you much of interest though.

Foot size, like intelligence would most likely appear to as a bell curve if graphed, the french/uk bell curve might show a slight difference, so might the intelligence curve. But either way, 50% of people have feet smaller than the average, and 50% larger. (That applies to a non discrete, accurate measurement of course, not shoe size).

 

---------- Post added 14-01-2018 at 15:35 ----------

 

 

Only if you choose to misinterpret what "below average" means.

You were talking about the level of intelligence of brexit voters though. Have you now just changed that to making pretty obvious comments on determining averages?

If not let me know what I’ve misinterpreted.

Just read post #47 again, it's all there.

Just read post #47 again, it's all there.

I already had.

You were asked if you thought anyone who voted differently to you was an idiot.

You replied saying you believe 50% of people are below average intelligence.

Unless you were saying peoples intelligence was below average then your comment was totally meaningless. What was the purpose of making that point?

The use of average in normal conversation simply means mean. It's quite accurate enough. If I'd wanted to say mode or median I would have.

 

Yes, measuring intelligence, even defining it is problematic. But whatever definition was used, and no matter how accurately it could be measured, there would be an average and 50% of the population would be below that value, and 50% above it.

 

Obviously number of arms is a discrete measurement, totally unlike intelligence. Unless you want to start counting the loss of a portion of arm.

 

Average shoe size I don't see the problem with though. If you want to use shoe size as a proxy for foot size, which isn't a discrete measurement. I don't know if it tells you much of interest though.

Foot size, like intelligence would most likely appear to as a bell curve if graphed, the french/uk bell curve might show a slight difference, so might the intelligence curve. But either way, 50% of people have feet smaller than the average, and 50% larger. (That applies to a non discrete, accurate measurement of course, not shoe size).

 

---------- Post added 14-01-2018 at 15:35 ----------

 

 

Only if you choose to misinterpret what "below average" means.

If say we had a population of 10, and three of those wore size 10 shoes and seven wore size 1, the mean average shoe size is 3.7. Seventy percent of the population wear a below average shoe size.

The same can be applied to intelligence measured by IQ.

50 percent of the population would be below the median and the same above.

Have you read about the disastrous effects that brexit is already having on science and research in the UK?

 

---------- Post added 14-01-2018 at 09:35 ----------

 

 

I assume that I'm in the top 10% actually, although you really have to start asking "what is intelligence?" and "how do we measure that?"

 

---------- Post added 14-01-2018 at 09:37 ----------

 

 

Hilarious.

By definition 50% of anything measured is below the average and 50% is above. That's pretty much what the word average means.

And yes, we're talking about the mean, unless specified 'average' means mean, not mode or median.

Modesty and humility are certainly not your strong points are they?!

If say we had a population of 10, and three of those wore size 10 shoes and seven wore size 1, the mean average shoe size is 3.7. Seventy percent of the population wear a below average shoe size.

 

The same can be applied to intelligence measured by IQ.

 

50 percent of the population would be below the median and the same above.

I started doing the same thing then realized, for the median in your example the average would be 1 which would give only 3 above ave and 7 equal to the average.

Starting to think unless lucky you wouldn't necessarily get 50% each side of the ave by any of the 3 average types. Happy to be corrected.