The End of Average: How to Succeed in a World that Values Sameness by Todd Rose explains how reliance on the abilities of the average person has limited the success of our culture in many ways. We need to replace equal access with equal fit so that every individual can fit in and become their best as they live a life of excellence as they define it. All teachers, administrators, parents, and older students should read this. Get your copy today.

Introduction: The Look-Alike Competition

• After World War II, the US military was concerned that there were too many aircraft accidents being chalked up to pilot error. This led to a study that showed that the one-size-fits-all cockpits designed in 1926 fit no one. In other words, they found that there was no such thing as the average pilot. When the government demanded cockpits fit individuals, the military was surprised to learn that it was easy and not expensive to create environments adjustable for individual pilots.
• While other research supports the idea that no one is average, our schools still compare performance to the average student. Averages have their place, but should not be used when making a decision about an individual. The author’s own story that took him from dropping out of high school to the faculty at Harvard supports the idea that human potential is nowhere near as limited as the system we have put in place assumes.

Part I: The Age of Average – 1. The Invention of the Average

• In the early 1800s, Adolphe Quetelet (Kettle-lay) applied the methods of astronomy to the study of people. When measuring things like the speed of planets, the best way to get an accurate number was to take the average of observations by many astronomers. He felt that the average person was the true human being while the individual was synonymous with error. While this makes no sense today, many scientists bought it and worked it into their science.
• Francis Galton gave us the idea of ranking. He also gave us correlations. As a result, a person’s rank on narrow metrics of achievement are used to judge their talent. Averages and ranks are now used by educators and employers. Averagarian is a term Todd invented to describe anyone who uses averages to understand individuals.

2. How Our World Became Standardized

• Fredrick Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) was responsible for standardizing industrial procedures in most factories. The idea was that a manager would determine the most efficient way for the average worker to do a job exactly as told, without innovating or deviating from the plan. These ideas were adopted worldwide by leaders like Mussolini and Hitler, as well as in countries in Asia like China and Japan. Taylorism is still widely in use today.
• Edward Thorndyke embraced Taylor’s ideas for education, which gave us factory schools that aimed to produce standardize students to fill positions in factories. Education’s managers were responsible for standardizing the curriculum and making sure that teachers followed it. He also added the idea of sorting students, which gave us tracking, where top students were placed in one track and lower students were placed in lower tracks. Standardized tests are still commonly used for this purpose. SAT and ACT scores result in ranking students heading to colleges, which are also ranked.

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