Cournot Noted Quote by Stephen Stigler
““Cournot noted that if one averaged the respecticvee sides of a collection of right triangles, the resulting figure would not be a right triangle...””
About This Quote
Source Book: The History of Mathematics, 1986
Averaging the sides of right triangles does not preserve the right‑triangle property, highlighting limits of simple averaging in geometry.
In simple terms: Averaging right triangles loses their right‑angle nature.
Key Takeaway
Beware of over‑simplifying geometric data.
Themes
mathematics
geometry
averaging
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
educational
technical
When to use this quote
- engineering design
- computer graphics
- architectural planning
- data visualization
Key Concepts
statistics
shape analysis
Questions to Reflect On
- When is averaging appropriate for shape data?
- What alternative methods preserve geometric integrity?
A Different Perspective
Averaging may work for some properties but not all.
![“Doing the right thing is easy. [It is] much more difficult [to...] figure out what [the right thing] is.” quote by Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d9d/harry-s-truman-898_difficult_doing-the-right-thing-is-easy-it-is-much_3031385.jpg)
