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You shouldn't use the mean in a data set when there's an outlier in the data set. If an outlier is present it will drag the mean either up or down, making the average seem higher or lower than it really is, therefore making it unreliable. HOWEVER:
If you WANT to make the average of the data appear higher or lower (like if you're trying to convince your parents/boss to give you a raise in allowance/salary, and you show them the average income of your peers compared to your average income, you would want your income to appear much less compared to the others), then you should use the mean with as many outliers as possible in order to drag the average up or down.

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15y ago

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Q: When should you not use the mean in a data set?
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