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:
“It is our continuing love for our children that makes us want them to become all they can be, and their continuing love for us that helps them accept healthy discipline—from us and eventually from themselves.”
—Fred Rogers (20th century)
“The only phenomenon with which writing has always been concomitant is the creation of cities and empires, that is the integration of large numbers of individuals into a political system, and their grading into castes or classes.... It seems to have favored the exploitation of human beings rather than their enlightenment.”
—Claude Lévi-Strauss (b. 1908)