Definition of an Outlier

      A white deer in a herd of brown deer, an African-American boy in a group of white children, a girl in an all-boy classroom, a Ferrari among thirty trucks, the straight 100’s student in a classroom of average students, Rudolph and the other reindeer…what do all of these situations have in common?  They all represent examples of outliers. 

     When the word "outlier" is brought up, this definition comes to mind: someone or something not included in a particular group.  According to the website thefreedictionary.com, an outlier is "one whose domicile lies at an appreciable distance from his or her place of business." In layman's terms, this means a person whose home is a great distance from his or her place of work. Two other definitions of outlier are also provided on the same website. One of them is "a value far from most others in a set of data."  The other definition is "a portion of stratified rock separated from a main formation by erosion."  The book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell employs the second definition when he describes the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania.  The town is different from the mainstream set of data; the people of this town are healthier than the average American.

     Outliers can be outliers for good and bad reasons.  Adults and children with high IQs (on the upper end of the scale near 200) can be seen as outliers.  They learn school material within a matter a minutes that would take “smart” children an hour to comprehend.  To those who appreciate their talent, they are seen as a genius.  To those who do not appreciate their talent, they are seen as freak shows, too smart for their own good.  An African-American boy in a white crowd could go either way too.  By his skin color, he could be considered an outlier because he is unique.  But also by his skin color, he could be considered an outlier to be discriminated against.

     In summary, outliers in general are someone or something that does not fit the “norm.”  They can be seen as bad or good depending on the situation and perspective from which the situation is viewed.  Outliers give meaning to the word unique.