Chapter 5. What Are Statistics?
Overview
Statistics are numbers, but the practice of statistics is the craft of measuring imperfect knowledge. That's one definition, and there are many more.
This chapter is a collection of short essays to get you started on the many ways of statistical thinking and to get you used to the terminology of the field.
Ponderings
The Business of Statistics
The discipline of statistics provides the framework of balance sheets and income statements for scientific knowledge. Statistics is an accounting discipline, but instead of accounting for money, it is accounting for scientific credibility. It is the craft of weighing and balancing observational evidence. Scientific conclusions are based on experimental data in the presence ...
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