Definition
The middle value in a set of numbers arranged from lowest to highest. Half the values fall below the median and half fall above it. If the set has an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values.
Plain English
The number in the middle of a sorted list. Just as many values are above it as below it.
Context Anchor
Seen when aviation information is presented as data, such as weather records, performance comparisons, training results, or safety statistics.
Derivation
From the Latin medianus, meaning 'in the middle.' The same root gives us 'medium' and 'median strip' (the middle of a road). The aviation use keeps that plain meaning: the middle value of a group.
Why Pilots Care
A pilot who confuses median with average may read data incorrectly. The median can show a typical middle value even when one very high or very low number would pull the average away from what is common.
Intuition Check
Median does not mean “average” in the everyday loose sense. Median means the middle value after the numbers are put in order.
Example Sentence 1
The median runway length at the airports surveyed was 5,200 feet, meaning half were shorter and half were longer.
Example Sentence 2
Controllers reported the median wind speed across the period rather than the average.