One person gets a mark of 50% on an examination, while a second person receives 100% on the same test. If we apply a simple statistical method to these two scores, we find their average to be 75%.  So, what ‘averaging’ has done is reduce our knowledge about these two individuals, where one did poorly and the other perfectly.  Such an understanding suggests we have lost more information than we have gained when we depend upon averages.  Understanding ‘average,’ then, begins to inform us of the nature of all abstract constructs.  Let’s look at another example of an abstract construct.  Regarding race, ‘black’ turns into an abstract construct (where precision is lost), since people of any color vary widely from each other as to their skin tone.  As well, being white consists of a variety of shades, including shades that could pass for black or for white.  Things get more complicated when race no longer...(Read Full Article)