The Seven Pillars of Statistical Wisdom

by Stephen M. Stigler

Overview

What gives statistics its unity as a science? Stephen Stigler sets forth the seven foundational ideas of statistics—a scientific discipline related to but distinct from mathematics and computer science and one which often seems counterintuitive. His original account will fascinate the interested layperson and engage the professional statistician.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674088917
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/07/2016
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,090,001
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Stephen M. Stigler is Ernest DeWitt Burton Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of Statistics at the University of Chicago.

Editorial Reviews

The hardest kind of scientific thinking concerns what’s in a field’s basement—and Stigler has brought a bright flashlight to his subterranean investigations of the ever-more-influential field of statistics.
-- Bradley Efron, Stanford University

Distilled from centuries of statistical research and garnished with wit, this masterfully prepared seven-course food for thought is a real treat for anyone who wants to reason with data, big or small.
-- Xiao-Li Meng, Harvard University

Statistics has a core set of ideas that touch every aspect of our lives. Stigler has tapped into these and brought them to life.
-- Persi Diaconis, Stanford University

This lively account of a radically counter-intuitive past at least encourages us to question big data’s reputation. Never entrust measurement to a monarch—or judgment to a computer.
-- Jonathon Keats New Scientist

Wonderful…Each of the seven pillars that Stigler, in his wisdom, has hewn from the past two centuries of statistical thought provides surprising insights.
-- Howard Wainer Science

Learning to reason statistically helps to make one a clearer and more logical thinker about important issues in the world. Part of the achievement of this book is that it makes some of this available to the general reader without the necessity of having to delve into more technical aspects of the subject.
-- Michael J. Evans Mathematical Reviews (starred review)

From the Publisher

This lively account of a radically counter-intuitive past at least encourages us to question big data’s reputation. Never entrust measurement to a monarch—or judgment to a computer.

New Scientist - Jonathon Keats

The hardest kind of scientific thinking concerns what’s in a field’s basement—and Stigler has brought a bright flashlight to his subterranean investigations of the ever-more-influential field of statistics.

Bradley Efron

Distilled from centuries of statistical research and garnished with wit, this masterfully prepared seven-course food for thought is a real treat for anyone who wants to reason with data, big or small.

Xiao-Li Meng

Learning to reason statistically helps to make one a clearer and more logical thinker about important issues in the world. Part of the achievement of this book is that it makes some of this available to the general reader without the necessity of having to delve into more technical aspects of the subject.

Mathematical Reviews (starred review) - Michael J. Evans

Wonderful…Each of the seven pillars that Stigler, in his wisdom, has hewn from the past two centuries of statistical thought provides surprising insights.

Science - Howard Wainer

Statistics has a core set of ideas that touch every aspect of our lives. Stigler has tapped into these and brought them to life.

Persi Diaconis