At an art fair, an artist named Alec set up two tents to display his watercolors. The sign above the first tent read “Below Average, Half Off,” and the sign on the other tent read “Above Average.”
On a lunch break, Larry saw the tents and decided to do a little investigating.
“I love your work,” Larry said to Alec as he entered the Above Average tent. “How do you decide what goes in each tent?
“It’s pretty simple,” Alec said. “I make hundreds of paintings. If I make 500 paintings, 250 are above average and 250 are below average. So I have a tent for each.”
“What is your most average painting?” Larry asked.
Alec motioned for Larry to follow him to the middle of the two tents. Straddling the two outside tent posts was a painting of a dog.
“This one is the most average,” Alec said proudly.
Larry peered into the below-average tent. “You know, I think some of these paintings are better than the above-average ones.”
“Here’s the real secret,” Alec said, leading Larry to the front of the tent. “Above average and below average can be measured in many ways. The people who want a deal go into the below-average tent. The people who want a masterpiece go into the above-average tent.”
Alec grabbed the two tent signs and switched them. “In my book, above average is what sells.”