“V”ARIANCE

A concept defined by Mathematics as the measurement of spread between the numbers in the data set. This in turn tells us how far each number is from the mean of the concerned numbers.

If we try to put it down in terms of formula, the sum of squared difference between each number in the set and the mean is divided by the number of values in the set

Simple enough?

You can put down your pens and calculators. My itchy fingers are not going to take a Maths class here.

Courtesy: Google Images

My itchy fingers woke up today with the thought of being associated with variance well before they were introduced in school with a caveat of it being ‘not to be missed topic’ for it was to fetch maximum marks in the exam. Crazy standards of learning! I know.

So it starts with the childhood days when they were trapped in a constant fight of being closer to the mean by trying to lie on a straight line of the ordinary or to try breaking away from the mean and be the “outlier” that distorted the mean altogether by lying way too far from the rest of the data points (read peers) in the set. In other words,doing their own thing without considering what the “norm” was.

They have still not understood whether to follow “Always abide by the rules” or “Rules are meant to be broken”.

My itchy fingers henceforth have decided to study variance in the world over the years and take a decision.

From a generation of firm belief in “teachers, bankers, engineers and doctors are the only professionals in the world”, we got a handful of people pursuing Cinema, Sports, Stand-up Comedy and their own start-ups for what not and inspiring others thereby breaking the chain of “commoners” by inducing a chain reaction!

Variance for the good! Right?

But I think the sitution becomes complicated when this whole concept of “being different” is interpreted at an altogether different level.

When I was in school, my friends who declared themselves as atheists left us agape because that was different from what the society had been trying to “teach us”.

But my friend, painting vandalism and rape in the colour of religious fervour is not being an outlier. Outright insane maybe!

In a seemingly stable economy, the collapse of Lehman Brothers was the largest outlier that could ever be. But every new banking scam being unearthed on a daily/weekly basis makes me feel sorry because they are now defining the standard.

There was a time when raising the bar was the norm and anything else was considered variance. Stooping low is the new norm I guess. Sad but true.

Don’t believe me?

Can’t you see it in the actions of the people making the news for all the wrong reasons?

Can’t you hear it in the intense words of the authoritative people who are out there trying to incite the innocent?

Can’t you feel it in the environment where everyone is determined to fast unto death? It’s not for independence, it’s to become a part of a “certain category” to drive some benefits meant for those who actually need it. You see “Perseverance, Merit and Deservedness” are words long lost.

The technological advancements that gave us Netflix and Chromecast are good as they brought to us more food for thought defying the standards and expectations set by the big screen. But I feel that eating food and thinking while sitting all the day long is the new norm as we have robbed the nature of its elements and technology has robbed us of our intent of stepping out of our homes. Fair enough but can’t be termed as good though?

Pondering over all this, my itchy fingers have realized that negatives seem to have clouded their vision and they need to find an exhaustive list of variance to take a final decision.

Because variance is positive as it involves only the square of numbers.

The same however does not go in real life.

Because in real life two negatives can magnify a mistake to a blunder.

Mathematics suddenly seems amiable. Right?

My itchy fingers would like to sign off for today with these words with a promise to be back soon.

This is the 22nd post in the series #AtoZChallenge.

This post is also for #BlogchatterA2Z ------> 'V'.