AVERAGE: The Wednesday Word #WednesdayWisdom
INTRO: Do you want to be the best of the worst or the worst of the best?
WORD: Average (noun, verb, adjective)
It is all three, a noun, verb, and an adjective
DEFINITION of Average:
(noun)
- a number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number.
“the housing prices there are twice the national average” - an amount, standard, level, or rate regarded as usual or ordinary.
“they take about thirty minutes on average”
(adjective)
- constituting the result obtained by adding together several quantities and then dividing this total by the number of quantities.
“the average temperature in May was 64°F” - of the usual or ordinary standard, level, or quantity.
“a person of average height” - mediocre; not very good.
“a very average director who made very average movies”
(verb)
- achieve or amount to as an average rate or amount over a period of time.
“annual inflation averaged 2.4 percent” - calculate or estimate the average of (figures or measurements).
“their earnings, averaged out over the month, were only $62 a week” - result in an even distribution; even out.
“it is reasonable to hope that the results will average out” - result in an average figure of.
“the cost should average out to about $6 per page”
ETYMOLOGY of Average:
late 15th century: from French avarie ‘damage to ship or cargo’, earlier ‘customs duty’, from Italian avaria, from Arabic ‘awār ‘damage to goods’; the suffix -age is on the pattern of damage . Originally denoting a duty payable by the owner of goods to be shipped, the term later denoted the financial liability from goods lost or damaged at sea, and specifically the equitable apportionment of this between the owners of the vessel and of the cargo (late 16th century); this gave rise to the general sense of calculating the mean (mid 18th century).
Average: The Wednesday Word ACTION IDEAS:
In addition to COVID, we have another pandemic raging across our great nation and planet. “Average” Grant Cardone says in Grant Rant #149, “is an epidemic in this country. Average is an epidemic on planet earth.” When considering real success in business, Grant goes on to say that anything that’s average will deliver no real value in a marketplace. If you’re just average, it will be near impossible to have any true value. Why? It comes down to simple economic supply and demand. When there’s ample supply, what happens to the value? It drops. When there is low supply, value increases. In this country there is plenty of average. Average thinking, average work, average products.
“There is so much average on this planet now, it is worthless. Average is probably the single most destructive idea or action that you can operate with today.” -Grant Cardone
So there’s that, but while we’re here let’s also touch on the etymology and original meaning of the word… are you damaged goods?
