> Statistically, averages work only if distributions are symmetric.
I'm not really sure what you mean by that but I don't think you're correct. The law of large numbers applies to any distribution with finite first moment.
You're probably right in that factors like wealth (and wealth distribution rather than per-capita wealth) affect a country's scientific output. But your stats argument is a bit wobbly :)
It’s a more general statement that applies to say orange production as various plants only grow well in specific climates. Basically, if you’re looking at total calories consumed that is mostly a function of population size, but large samples don’t average out inherent differences.
> I'm not really sure what you mean by that but I don't think you're correct.
Can you explain, in context to what I said - what exactly is incorrect? I am very well versed with the theory of Law of Large numbers. The question is - "Why does the Law of Large Numbers tell us that per capita is a the right metric to compare Nobel Prize output of different countries?"
I'm not really sure what you mean by that but I don't think you're correct. The law of large numbers applies to any distribution with finite first moment.
You're probably right in that factors like wealth (and wealth distribution rather than per-capita wealth) affect a country's scientific output. But your stats argument is a bit wobbly :)