Exactly. It's fucking hilarious when people try to say 5'9 is average for a guy.
It clearly, clearly isn't these days. Maybe in terms of pure stats when you have to factor in all the 90 year old Chinese and Tibetans, and Sri Lankan men who are about 5'3, then sure.
But for a young white or black guy? No fucking way. I'd say the average is about 6 foot or close to it, at least 5'11.
I'm not arguing with the number at all.
But...statistically....If anyone states numbers for avg heights, this needs to be for a specific country (different countries DO vary, Holland is the highest avg for example) and then it needs to be :
- fully-grown adults (obviously) so approx 18yrs and over for males.
- needs to encompass all ethnicities that are citizens of that country (like it or not)
- needs to be ALL ages, over 18, so 28, 38, 48, 58, 68, 78 etc... (and YES I do know that adult males shrink in height approx 0.25" per decade).
- number is the arithmetic mean, not the median value etc (this is statistics)
- sample size needs to be quite substantial, relative to the total population, to have validity.
- needs to encompass all REGIONS of a country, to eliminate or reduce genetic (DNA) variations
- USA (for example) has population of 327million, so 163mill males, and over 18yrs males will be therefore
124million as 2010 Census shows 76% (approx) population is over 18yrs.
etc.etc.
- the participants are *actually* measured competently, stand fully-upright, and these heights are NOT "that's what he said" bullshit heights.
Now...I am assuming that whoever came up with the 5'9" average height for a full-grown male in USA did at least, have some qualifications in statistics and mathematics and, therefore, came up with a reasonably accurate number. I doubt they said "OK let's take 100 dudes in California, 100 dudes in Nebraska, and 100 in New York State, measure them, average the results and THAT'S IT for the country, let's go and have a few beers".
Summary: Assuming reasonable competence from the people involved, 5'9" should be accurate enough as an arithmetic mean figure for full-grown adult males and I don't care if everyone you've ever met is 6foot tall. That is statistically invalid and irrelevant.
(TL;DR yada yada yada don't care)