The Will Rogers phenomenon is obtained when moving an element from one set to another set raises the average values of both sets. It is based on the following quote, attributed (perhaps incorrectly) to comedian Will Rogers:
- When the Okies left Oklahoma and moved to California, they raised the average intelligence level in both states.
The effect will occur when both of these conditions are met:
- The element being moved is below average for its current set. Removing it will, by definition, raise the average of the remaining elements.
- The element being moved is above the current average of the set it is entering. Adding it to the new set will, by definition, raise the average.
Read more about Will Rogers Phenomenon: Numerical Examples, Stage Migration
Famous quotes containing the words rogers and/or phenomenon:
“Parenting forces us to get to know ourselves better than we ever might have imagined we could—and in many new ways. . . . We’ll discover talents we never dreamed we had and fervently wish for others at moments we feel we desperately need them. As time goes on, we’ll probably discover that we have more to give and can give more than we ever imagined. But we’ll also find that there are limits to our giving, and that may be hard for us to accept.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)
“I do not regret my not having seen this before, since I now saw it under circumstances so favorable. I was in just the frame of mind to see something wonderful, and this was a phenomenon adequate to my circumstances and expectation, and it put me on the alert to see more like it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)