On 08/23/2018 06:15 PM, Ivan Calandra wrote:

Thanks all for the enlightenment.

So, it does make sense that mean() produces NaN and median()/sd() NA, from a calculation point of view at least. But I still think it also makes sense that the mean of NA is NA as well, be it only for consistency with other functions. That's just my opinion of course. I can still convert NaN to NA at the end if I need to.

But the mean of NA *is* NA!

x <- NA
mean(x)
[1] NA

This is *not* the same scenario as having nothing left after *removing* all NAs:

x <- rep(NA,3)
mean(x,na.rm=TRUE > [1] NaN

Seems quite consistent/coherent to me.

cheers,

Rolf Turner

--
Technical Editor ANZJS
Department of Statistics
University of Auckland
Phone: +64-9-373-7599 ext. 88276

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