8 Comments

I like your writing. I cannot wait to read how you do it! I first learned about your work through your article 'Being in Time' and then went on a reading spree of your books. I'm glad you've joined Substack that I won't have to google your name to find your latest articles.

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Oct 30, 2023Liked by Paul Bloom

Guys, my penis is 1200 inches long, sorry for wrecking the average. Also, I am a blue whale.

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Oct 30, 2023Liked by Paul Bloom

My memory of the Polkaroo does not include any recollection of the actors taking on the role. The Polkaroo was the Polkaroo. The adults seemed to always miss him (or it).

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Oct 30, 2023Liked by Paul Bloom

Regarding 4: I always wondered which group of people has the most accurate self-image in those scenarios. Are people with a more negative self-image ("definitely obeyed") more accurate or are most of the people who disobeyed in the "definitely disobeyed" group? (These are two slightly separate issues, but you get my point)

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Oct 30, 2023Liked by Paul Bloom

Re 3, is "average" an option? Can one be "averager" than average?

Re 4, Lake Wobegon is an enchanting place.

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The "over half of people thing believe they're above average at..." thing is a joke that needs to backfire in the authors face. This is a classic mean/median confusion. More than half a population *can* have an above average penis size. In a population of 100 men, if 99 measure 5 inches, and 1 measures 4 inches, then the average length is 4.95 inches. So 99 are above average, and one below.

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author

yes, that's definitely true. And there are cases with a big mean/median contrast--money being an obvious example. If Bill Gates walks into an auditorium, everyone else has below average wealth. But the above average effect works for ranges where there is a normal distribution, such as intelligence, weight, and size of body parts.

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Oct 30, 2023Liked by Paul Bloom

Of course, with a normal distribution the median and mean coincide.

I still feel that when people make this joke, they're laughing because they think that above average = top half of the population.

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