23 April

The disaster of averages! The average voter doesn’t exist, it’s a statistical calculation. And it turns out, when you survey actual voters, they’re *more* extreme in their specific views than most politicians. This is another way to look at the myth of moderation, balance, the ‘sensible centre’, in politics, food or whatever. As the researchers actually describe it in the article, it’s ‘bullshit’. It’s an error based on a misunderstanding of averages. Moderates are usually the *most* extreme of all people, but because their extreme views are in multiple directions, they average out to something that looks like a ‘sensible centre’. Somebody who eats or drinks in moderation, for example, tends to alternate between binge and abstain, and this averages to something that looks like balance.