When you're trying to estimate the time between the beginning and the end of any project, the critical path follows the longest route. The standard deviation, on the other hand, uses the the most ...

In statistics, the average amount a number varies from the average number in a series of numbers. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction requires permission.

Steven Nickolas is a writer and has 10+ years of experience working as a consultant to retail and institutional investors. Gordon Scott has been an active investor and technical analyst or 20+ years.

In response to my article, Is the Stock Market Too Concentrated?, which relied upon standard-deviation calculations to assess investment risk, a reader wrote: “My problem [with your argument] is ...