Measures of Spatial Central Tendency
The coordinate-wise mean of a point set is the centroid, which solves the same variational problem in the plane (or higher dimensional Euclidean space) that the familiar average solves on the real line — that is, the centroid has the smallest possible average squared distance to all points in the set.
Read more about this topic: Spatial Descriptive Statistics
Famous quotes containing the words measures of, measures, central and/or tendency:
“One encounters very capable fathers abashed by their piano-playing daughters. Three measures of Schumann make them red with embarrassment.”
—Alfred Döblin (1878–1957)
“thou mayst know,
That flesh is but the glass, which holds the dust
That measures all our time;”
—George Herbert (1593–1633)
“The central paradox of motherhood is that while our children become the absolute center of our lives, they must also push us back out in the world.... But motherhood that can narrow our lives can also broaden them. It can make us focus intensely on the moment and invest heavily in the future.”
—Ellen Goodman (20th century)
“To revolt is a natural tendency of life. Even a worm turns against the foot that crushes it. In general, the vitality and relative dignity of an animal can be measured by the intensity of its instinct to revolt.”
—Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876)