Question: what is mean of life???

An anonymous tumblr user asks, what is mean of life??? We assume the intent of this
question is to ask what is the meaning of life? However, we can begin to answer this ques-
tion by pondering the initial question. We assume life is continuous and define a distribution
representing LIFE.

Evaluating the mean of LIFE

By assigning the letters numerical values, based on their position in the alphabet. Thus:
L=12, I=9, F=6, E=5 and LIFE = [12, 9, 6, 5]. We can determine the arithmetic mean
(average) value for LIFE. We assume LIFE represents the entirety of the population, thus
is the average value of the distribution LIFE.
n
1X 1
= xi = (12 + 9 + 6 + 5) = 8 (1)
n i=1 4
(where n is the number of values in distribution, xi is the ith value)

Interpretation: What is the meaning of life?

Now that we have calculated the mean of life, we can interpret our information.

The variance of LIFE

2 , the variance of a distribution informally measure how far a spread of numbers are spread
from the average.
N
2 1 X 1
= (xi )2 = [(12 8)2 + (9 8)2 + (6 8)2 + (5 8)2 ] = 7.5 (2)
N i=1 4

The variance, 2 = 7.5, is very close to the mean value, = 8. This shows that the
distribution has a widly varying range of values.
We could interpret this as analogous to the wide range of experiences people
experience in life regardless of the typical life.

Life as a Normal Distribution

From the known values for LIFE (as well as mean and variance) we can determine charac-
teristics of the distribution LIFE. The normal (Gaussian) distribution is a very common,
continuous probability distribution. Many characteristics within populations (ex, heights,
grades in a class, velocities of atoms in a gas ) follow a Gaussian distribution. Thus, we
assume life follows a Gaussian distribution.

1
The probability density, f (x) of a continuous, random, variable describes the relative likeli-
hood for a function to take on a given value.
1 (x)2 1 (x8)2
f (x) = e 2 2 = e 15 (3)
2 2 15

Figure 1: Plot (via Wolfram Alpha) of the probability distribution (f (x)) where = 8 and
2 = 7.5. The y-axis represents the probability that LIFE will yeild the x-axis value.

The probability density function (f (x)) is used to determine the probability (P (x)) for a
value in a distribution to fall within a certain range (a to b). The probability is the integral
(area under curve) of probability density function over that range, and the probability over
range of all possible values is 1 (analogous to 100 %).

Earlier, we assumed LIFE was a distribution, determined by the numerical positions of

letters in the word life. These values ranged from 5 to 12. Thus, we will calculate the
probability that values in LIFE will be within this range.

Zb Z12
P (x) = f (x) = f (x) 0.791276 (4)
a 5

Thus, there is an approximately 80 % chance lifes output will be defined by given range of
values. We can interpret that life isnt always driven by the expected outcomes.
You can work hard and achieve more than is expected of you due to hardships
encountered, socioeconomic status, gender, or sexuality.

Furthermore, we evaluate the likelihood life will fall within a known (positive) value to
determine the liklihood LIFE will be negative.
Z
Ppos (x) = f (x) 0.9983 (5)
0

2
We see that the liklihood that overall, LIFE will be negative is less than 0.02 %. We can
interpret this as meaning that although life has negative points, there is a very
low probability that LIFE as a whole will be negative. Embrace the challenges
you face as an obstacle to overcome in strengthening your character.

Conclusions
There is range of experiences people experience in life regardless of the typical life.
Just because you have different experiences than others, doesnt make them any less
valid.

Life isnt always driven by the outcomes people expect. You can follow an unconven-
tional path, and its okay. You can work hard and achieve more than is expected of
you due to hardships encountered, socioeconomic status, gender, sexuality or other
characteristics that make life hard.

Although life has negative points, there is a very low probability that LIFE as a
whole will be negative. Embrace the challenges you face as an obstacle to overcome in
strengthening your character.