Re: Idempotence and "Replication Insensitivity" are equivalent ?

Phil Carmody wrote:
> "vc" <boston103_at_hotmail.com> writes:
> > Phil Carmody wrote:
> > > pamelafluente_at_libero.it writes:
> > > > the Median is the value which minimize the sum of absolute differences
> > > >
> > > > ie. sum | xi - c | is minimum for c = MEDIAN()
> > >
> > > If I were Bob Silverman, you'd get one heck of a flaming for
> > > posting something so obviously somewhere in between unintelligible
> > > and meaningless (including both endpoints) to sci.math.
> >
> > Are saying that the median does not have the property that it minimizes
> > the sum of absolute deviations ?
>
> I'm not saying that. I'm saying that the property does not always
> uniquely define a median ("*the* value", emphasis mine), and therefore
> cannot be used as the definition therefor.

So what definition does define a median uniquely ?

>There are some sets, such
> as {0, 1}, where every value between 0 and 1 (including both endpoints)
> is minimum.

That does not make much sense and depends, at least, on what you mean by {0, 1}. Assuming 0 and 1 are integers, there is no "every value between 0 and 1".

>
> I thought I dropped enough of a hint in my prior post, obviously not.
>
> Phil
> --
> "Home taping is killing big business profits. We left this side blank
> so you can help." -- Dead Kennedys, written upon the B-side of tapes of
> /In God We Trust, Inc./.
Received on Sat Sep 23 2006 - 21:07:49 CEST