What first comes to mind when I think of the word "outlier" is my tenth grade Accelerated Algebra 2 teacher. She was reviewing mean, median, mode, and range with the class and said that many times you will have data called an outlier, or extreme. As I've gotten older and progressed not only in my education, but also in my maturity and awareness of others, I see that the term "outlier" can apply to many things--people, places, numbers, and so forth.
In Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success, he focuses on people and how they, obviously, succeed. On the very first page, Gladwell denotes an outlier as being--(noun) 1. Something that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body. 2. A statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the other of the sample.
According to Merriam-Webster Online, an outlier is 1: a person whose residence and place of business are at a distance 2: something (as a geological feature) that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body 3: a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample.
For me, outliers are basically something different then everything else. Something that stands apart from everything else. Considering this, aren't we all outliers? And if that is the case, then is there such a thing as an outlier?
Haha.. I'm glad that someone else also related the definition of an outlier to something from their high school career. I agree that the term outlier can be related to not only numbers, but almost everything. However, I am unsure whether or not i completely understand what you mean exactly when you question that existance of outliers.
ReplyDeleteBy questioning the existence of outliers, I'm referring to the category of people outliers. Basically, I'm just trying to say that everyone is different, and if an outlier is someone who is different, and we are all different, then we are all outliers. And if we are outliers, could we even say there is such a thing. Does that make it more clear? haha sorry for the confusing statement.
ReplyDeleteI honestly never thought of it the way you have but now that I consider it, it's definitely true. We are all outliers in our own ways because, like you said, we are all different. It sorta goes back to the question "what is normal?" because outliers are the people that are not normal.
ReplyDeleteExactly what I was trying to say. You put it much better, I couldn't get it out right. haha.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you used references from something outside of college and dictionaries (math class). I also like the question of the existence of outliers. Like Ryan said, what is normal?
ReplyDeleteYeah i do understand it now. Like Ryan mentioned, i never thought of it that way. But then if we are all outliers, arent we all essentially the same too?...whoa...deep right?...
ReplyDeleteexactly, so are there outliers? haha. very deep.
ReplyDeletebut if we are all outliers....then we are also not all outliers....because we are all the same. right?...
ReplyDeleteright. we are all alike because we are all different.
ReplyDelete