This is a pet peeve of mine, but too often I’ll hear someone say something like: “The average age of our members is between 50 and 65.” Or “We average about 50 to 100 hits on our website each day.”
These are both nice thoughts, but what is being provided is not an average, but a range.
An average is ONE number. The average of 5, 10, and 30 is 15.
A range is, typically, two numbers. The range of these numbers is 5 to 30.
So think about what you’re saying. Are you providing an average, or a range?
You’d make a good copyeditor, Wes. Three cheers to those who have the knowledge and determination to say (or write) exactly what they mean, especially when it comes to numbers. Otherwise, if you don’t say what you mean, how on earth will anyone else know what you mean? Telepathy? Osmosis? Magic?
Thanks, Joe. I used to edit a newsletter a looong time ago, and perhaps that combined with my degree in secondary math education is what causes this to grate on me! ;-)