2741: Regression Below the Mean Jun 21, 2024

Getting 3 out of every 4 questions correct on a test still only earns one a C grade, and getting merely average isn’t viewed so highly. This might lend an insight into how words like ‘mediocre’ come to gain explicitly negative connotations, here of not meeting expectations, when the word in Latin mediocris meant “of middle height or degree”, literally “somewhat mountainous” from ‘medias’ (middle). The same would be true of describing something as ‘fine’, ‘run of the mill’, ‘middle of the road’, ‘average’ or even saying ‘above average’ in common conversation are not practically compliments, and while not explicitly negative either, they convey some disappointment. This is seen across history and language.