Editing Mode (statistics) (section)

===Use===
Unlike mean and median, the concept of mode also makes sense for "[[nominal data]]" (i.e., not consisting of [[Number|numerical]] values in the case of mean, or even of ordered values in the case of median). For example, taking a sample of [[Korean name|Korean family name]]s, one might find that "[[Kim (Korean name)|Kim]]" occurs more often than any other name. Then "Kim" would be the mode of the sample. In any voting system where a plurality determines victory, a single modal value determines the victor, while a multi-modal outcome would require some tie-breaking procedure to take place.

Unlike median, the concept of mode makes sense for any random variable assuming values from a [[vector space]], including the [[real number]]s (a one-[[dimension]]al vector space) and the [[integer]]s (which can be considered embedded in the reals). For example, a distribution of points in the [[plane (mathematics)|plane]] will typically have a mean and a mode, but the concept of median does not apply. The median makes sense when there is a [[linear order]] on the possible values. Generalizations of the concept of median to higher-dimensional spaces are the [[geometric median]] and the [[centerpoint (geometry)|centerpoint]].