Thread: Kurtosis

Can anybody explain in easy to understand "simple speak" what Kurtosis means to you.

ES

I think you get it from drinking too much

Ok googled it..
My interpretation of the Wikipedia is

'the pointiness of a chart'

A chart that rises and falls quickly has more Kurtosis then a chart that is flat.

I might be wrong. Has happened before.

Actually I think it is better described as a way to measure pointiness.

mesokurtotic is zero kurtosis
leptokurtic is positive kurtosis - meaning it is more pointy then normal
platykurtic is negative kurtosis - meaning it is less pointy then normal

It seems to be a way of measuring the statistical value of data, where you have an expected outcome.

Is is measurable? What is this skewness stuff that I read about when it is in the context of Kurtosis? Are there any indicators?

ES