medium vs. medium
The difference between mean and median is not only mathematical. Ironically, the mean can also be used as a speech figure!
The median, when used as a technical term, is defined as a value in the middle of a series of values such as the median age or price. A median can also be the midpoint of a line. In pure mathematics, the median is defined as the average value of a series of numbers ordered in order of size. In geometry, a median would be a straight line that passes from a point of a triangle to the center of the opposite side.
This means that if you have, for example, nine students in a group with their ages of 13, 16, 12, 15, 12, 11, 14, 13 and 14, then, after sorting them in ascending or descending order, the number in the fifth place would be the median. The median is not influenced by whether items or numbers are repeated. In the same series of numbers, if you found the average, you would essentially have to find your average.
The mean is calculated by adding up all the quantities in a group, finding the total and then dividing the total by the number of quantities. It also implies a medium between the highest and the lowest in meteorological terms, such as the average temperature.
Incidentally, unlike the median, mean also works as a speech figure! You can use mean as a verb to imply the meaning or inherent implication of a word, prayer, thought, etc. When used as an adjective, the word media can imply a range of characteristics. These are usually in phrase forms like ‘means with money’ which implies that you are not generous with the funds.
As a literary reference, the average can imply poverty, for example, it means in appearance that it refers to a poor appearance. In its formal form of language use, the mean can also imply that a person’s understanding is not great, for example, in “this should be clear even for the most petty intelligence.”
Ironically, in its informal form when used in language, the media can imply exactly the opposite as being skillful. For example, in the phrase “she plays an evil chess game” it means that the person she refers to is good at playing chess. The mean can also be used as an adjective to imply a lack of kindness, anger and violence.
