Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami
I suppose it might be the case that American culture values the outlier over the statistical norm, but that hasn't been my experience as an outlier.  (How's that for a "not my experience" statement? How ironic. Or it would be if there were a study backing up the idea that Americans are more likely to value the outlier...  ) |
I have to agree on the outlier situation. I think it depends on who the outlier is and in which out direction they lie. If the outlier is "cool" (e.g. Elvis) then he sets a new trend, is apprecisted, and soon is no longer an outlier. If the outlier is "wierd" (e.g. me) then he's just laughed at or ignored, unless he's really wierd, in which case something even more "non-appreciative" happens.
As for academic statistics and their validity, there's the old saying on the levels of liers - liers, damn liers, and outliers (er, I mean statistics)
