Scholars often consider the arithmetic mean as the only mean available. This gives rise to several mistakes. Thus, in a first course in statistics, it is necessary to introduce them to a more general concept of mean. In this work we present the notion of mean suggested by Oscar Chisini in 1929 which has a double advantage. It focuses students' minds on the substance of the problem for which a mean is required, thus discouraging any automatic procedure, and it does not require a preliminary list of the different mean formulas. Advantages and limits of the Chisini mean are discussed by means of examples.

How to compute a mean? The Chisini approach and its applications

GRAZIANI, REBECCA;VERONESE, PIERO
2009

Abstract

Scholars often consider the arithmetic mean as the only mean available. This gives rise to several mistakes. Thus, in a first course in statistics, it is necessary to introduce them to a more general concept of mean. In this work we present the notion of mean suggested by Oscar Chisini in 1929 which has a double advantage. It focuses students' minds on the substance of the problem for which a mean is required, thus discouraging any automatic procedure, and it does not require a preliminary list of the different mean formulas. Advantages and limits of the Chisini mean are discussed by means of examples.
2009
Graziani, Rebecca; Veronese, Piero
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11565/2065391
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 14
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 11
social impact