What do American drivers, the children of Lake Wobegon, and termites have in common?
They are all above average.
Here’s what a regular reader called LLP pointed out in an e-mail:
There is a TV ad running here in Southern California for a pest control company. It states that “the average termite eats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” so your million dollar home is at risk.
This got me thinking that the idea of average is on the upper limit — which does not make sense since no termite can exceed the maximum time alloted in a day or a week.
I wonder how many more misleading ads are being foisted on unsuspecting or “unthinking” people who simply listen to such blabber.
One other example, LLP points out, is a new car’s mileage per gallon of gas — “which does not take into consideration driving conditions, driver’s habits or vehicle’s load.”
Other examples of above-average promises?
and 
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Surveying drivers, the Swedish researcher Ola Svenson found that 80% of respondents rated themselves in the top 30% of all drivers.
Fitness advertisements that specifically say the results shown are not typical. This of course, appeals to the natural part of the brain we use to feed ourselves the BS that we are indeed above average, and should have no problem getting such atypical results. It’s those other poor slobs that wallow in underperformance that have to worry about not living up to the atypical results.
My mommy says I’m extra special.
http://www.slate.com/id/2192086/
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/tables/dt07_132.asp
“46 percent of high-school seniors who test below the “basic” level in science”
I would expect 50% to test below average, otherwise it’s not average.
Mutual fund managers. Every single one of them promises “above average” or “marketing beating” returns. By definition, impossible – though I don’t expect any fund managers to be promising returns that are “nearly average” anytime soon…
Well, technically it’s possible for an average (not mean, but mode, which is also technically an average – just not the one that typically comes to mind) to be the upper bound. Granted, in the case of the termites, it’s pretty unlikely that any termite eats all of the time…
Student evaluations of college professors
Ryan,
You’re getting average and median mixed up there. Someone forgetting high school maths? (I can’t remember what part of high school maths it is, just that it’s high school maths. Calculus? I don’t know anymore….)