Variance is
$$\dfrac{\sum_{i=1}^{n}(x_i-\bar x)^2}{n-1}$$
But why square the difference? Why not cube it, or any other exponent?
Related question.
Why is variance squared rather than cubed (or any other exponent)
statisticsvariance
statisticsvariance
Variance is
$$\dfrac{\sum_{i=1}^{n}(x_i-\bar x)^2}{n-1}$$
But why square the difference? Why not cube it, or any other exponent?
Related question.
Best Answer
You can also use other exponents, but then it is not called variance anymore. See this wikipedia page, for example.
Variance comes up quite naturally in various contexts, and carries a lot of information about the distribution.