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:
“Those of us who are in this world to educate—to care for—young children have a special calling: a calling that has very little to do with the collection of expensive possessions but has a lot to do with the worth inside of heads and hearts. In fact, that’s our domain: the heads and hearts of the next generation, the thoughts and feelings of the future.”
—Fred M. Rogers, U.S. writer and host of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. “That Which is Essential Is Invisible to the Eye,” Young Children (July 1994)
“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)