1. Shoe Size Is Whole Number (Discrete), but the Underlying Measure Is Foot Length Which Is Measurement (Continuous) Data. Even Half Sizes Are Still Not Really...
1. Shoe size is whole number (discrete), but the underlying measure is foot length which is measurement (continuous) data. Even half sizes are still not really measurement but "whole number", because there is nothing between size 8 and 8 1/2. 2.
What type of variable is shoe size?
Then he realized shoe size is an interval variable. An interval variable has a defined interval between values but lacks a zero point. Consider shoe sizes, we can say that the difference in shoe size 8 and shoe size 7 is equal to the difference in sizes 2 and 3. But it doesn't mean that size 6 is 2 times size 3.
Shoe size is also a discrete random variable. Blood type is not a discrete random variable because it is categorical. Continuous random variables have numeric values that can be any number in an interval. For example, the (exact) weight of a person is a continuous random variable.
Sarah Jenkins is a veteran tech journalist with over 12 years of experience covering artificial intelligence, mobile innovations, and digital ethics. Her insights have appeared in leading technology publications worldwide.