I've just learned that "lambda" has the additional meaning of "average" or something close to that, which I find surprising. How did it come to acquire this meaning?
asked Oct 28 '17 at 19:19
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The Greek alphabet starts from "alpha" and ends with "omega". As for the lesser-known "lambda", it comes in the 11th place among all 24 letters.
The midpoint is the 12th/13th letters, to which "lambda" is placed closest, hence the idea of holding an "average" position in the grand scheme of things.
If you land at the 11th/12th/13th/14th spot out of 24 competitors, you will reasonably qualify as "average/lambda", being close to neither the victor "alpha" nor the "omega" finishing last.
I'd say something like:
Une grande chance comme ça n'arrive qu'une seule fois dans la vie de quelqu'un lambda comme moi !
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answered Oct 28 '17 at 20:21
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1So you're saying the French consider the 11lth letter closer to the position between the 12th and the 13th letter than either the 12th or the 13th? – sgf Oct 28 '17 at 22:33
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@sgf Hi. Considering that "average" is a notion referring to a certain range around the midpoint instead of the exact midpoint, I find it just as logical to use the 11th letter as the 12th/13th. For instance, "an average age of 50" can represent a range of "45-55". So it does not necessarily have to be exactly 50 or the closest 49/51, but can also be 48/52 just as well to qualify as the notion of "average/lambda". – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens Oct 29 '17 at 1:11
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@sgf It might be because 12th and 13th places "mu" and "nu" both already mean something in French. – meristel Oct 29 '17 at 11:32
Précisément, l'usage de lambda comme "moyen" provient de l'école polytechnique
answered Oct 28 '17 at 21:03
