When “Average” Becomes Dangerous

In the early 1940s, the United States Air Force faced an alarming problem. Despite advanced aircraft and highly trained pilots, planes were crashing at unacceptable rates. At first, the explanation was simple: pilot error.

But a researcher named Gilbert Daniels suspected something deeper. He discovered that cockpit design was based on the “average” physical dimensions of pilots measured in the late 1920s.

Daniels measured more than 4,000 pilots across ten physical dimensions, including sitting height, arm span, and leg length. His findings were startling: not a single pilot matched the average in all ten categories.

By designing for the “average” pilot, the Air Force had designed a cockpit that truly fit no one.

This discovery led to a design revolution—introducing adjustable seats, pedals, and instruments that are now standard not only in aircraft, but also in modern automobiles.

The Real Problem: The Average Doesn’t Exist

This historical lesson offers a powerful framework for understanding many modern challenges. The “average” is a mathematical convenience—a mean that may describe a population, but often fails the individual.

In fields like medicine, education, and psychotherapy, relying too heavily on the bell curve can obscure what matters most: the jagged uniqueness of human beings.

In real life, the “average person” is often a statistical illusion.

Personalized Medicine: The Biological Cockpit

Just as pilots vary in limb length, patients vary dramatically in genetics, metabolism, trauma history, lifestyle, and environmental exposures. A one-size-fits-all approach in medicine can be as dangerous as a fixed cockpit seat.

Pharmacogenomics

Modern medicine is increasingly recognizing that treatment must be tailored to the individual. The emerging field of pharmacogenomics explores how a person’s DNA influences their response to medications. Differences in drug metabolism—often governed by CYP450 enzymes—can mean the difference between a therapeutic dose and a toxic one.

The Limits of Clinical Trials

Many medical “gold standards” are based on large population studies. These provide important baseline guidance, but they often obscure

the very individuals who most need personalized care: those who fall outside the typical response curve.

The Future: Individual Data

Effective healthcare increasingly requires attention to personal data—biomarkers, inflammation markers, gut microbiome patterns, sleep quality, nutrition, and stress physiology. In other words, modern medicine is learning what Daniels proved decades ago:

If you design for the average, you risk failing everyone.

Psychotherapy and the Myth of the “Standard Client”

Psychology has its own version of the cockpit problem. When therapy protocols are designed for the “average” depressed or anxious client, the result can be treatment that misses the nuance of the person sitting in the chair.

Every client brings a unique intersection of temperament, attachment history, nervous system sensitivity, trauma exposure, belief systems, and cultural context.

A standardized intervention may be over-stimulating for one person and insufficiently engaging for another.

Flexible Modalities Support Real Healing

Effective psychotherapy must be as adjustable as a pilot’s seat. The most successful clinicians develop a wide toolkit and learn how to tailor interventions based on what the client’s system is signaling.

This is one reason Energy Psychology continues to expand: it emphasizes calibration of intervention to the individual’s bio-energetic feedback, often in real time.

Rather than forcing a client to fit a rigid method, the clinician adapts the method to fit the client.

Technology: The New Averaging Machine

Today, AI and digital tools are rapidly transforming healthcare and mental health services. While these technologies offer promising support, they also carry a risk: algorithms are the ultimate “averaging machines.”

AI systems are trained on massive datasets designed to predict what works for the majority. If used carelessly, these tools may unintentionally reinforce standardized, generalized approaches that flatten individuality.

Used wisely, however, technology can enhance personalization—supporting clinicians with data insights while preserving the irreplaceable human elements of empathy, intuition, and relationship.

The goal should not be automated therapy.

The goal should be more informed and individualized therapy.

The Hidden Cost of Designing for the Middle

Designing for the average often means ignoring the edges of the distribution.

In education, this shows up as “teaching to the middle,” which leaves gifted students bored and struggling students behind.

In mental health, it can show up as “treatment resistance”—a label often used when a client doesn’t respond as expected to a standardized protocol or medication.

But perhaps the issue is not resistance.

Perhaps the system simply isn’t adjustable enough.

Instead of forcing individuals to fit the system, we must demand that the system become flexible enough to fit the individual.

Conclusion: From Standardized to Optimized

The lesson from the 1940s is clear: when we ignore individual differences, we invite failure.

Whether we are designing fighter jets, cars, classrooms, or treatment plans for mental and physical health, we must abandon “average” as the benchmark.

Success is found when we design for the individual—ensuring that every person has the tools, support, and “seat” they need to thrive.

We must move from a world of standardized models to a world of optimized, personalized care.

About the Author

Fred P. Gallo, PhD, DCEP, is a licensed psychologist and pioneer in Energy Psychology. He has authored and edited numerous books and articles on integrative psychotherapy and has contributed significantly to the development of Energy Psychology theory and clinical practice.

✨ Explore more integrative healing approaches and continuing education in Energy Psychology at the
👉Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP).

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