Mean The mean is the most commonly used measure of average . To calculate the mean, add the values together and divide the total by the number of values.

The following is an excerpt from Thinking in Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math, by Daniel Tammet, out now from Little, Brown.

Calculating the mean is one of many methods of finding an average. To calculate the mean, you add up all the numbers in the set, then divide the total by the number of numbers you added. The mean ...

Here’s what: Someone figured out that the relationship between those numbers not only made beautiful math, but also beautiful art and architecture.

Daniel Tammet. Little, Brown, $26 (288p) ISBN 978-0-316-18737-4 An autistic savant shares his insights on mathematics and life in this far-ranging collection of entertaining and thoughtful essays.