Gleanings

   GO FIGURE -- As fast-food workers around the country went on strike for better wages and working conditions, the CNN anchor reported that "The median pay -- that is to say, the most common pay -- is $18,000." Nope. Median does not mean "most common." In any set of numbers, the median is like the strip of land in the middle of a highway. It's the number in the middle, with just as many numbers above it as below it. Thus, with the series 1,2,3,4,5, the median is 3. In the series 1,2,3,7,9, the median is still three.
   The median is not to be confused with the mean, also known as the average, which is calculated by adding for a total, then dividing by the number of entries.
   A third term favored by number crunchers is the mode, which is the number that appears most often. The mode may, or may not, be the same as the median or the mean.

   PARTIAL PEOPLE -- The Philadelphia TV anchor reported that the building collapse "injured three  -- almost four -- people."

   GREAT EXPECTORATIONS -- The health care professional listed the diagnosis as "respitory failure." Perhaps the patient was unable to spit. What's wanted is "respiratory," which is related to "respiration," which has to do with breathing. The term is also related to expiration and inspiration, and other words rooted in spirit, which refers to breath in Latin.