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Expanding the Role of Statistics

It’s still more socially acceptable to rely on judgment, even when the data suggest otherwise

Jim Frost
Mon, 05/20/2013 - 12:07
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In a previous post, I wrote about how the field of statistics is more important now than ever before due to the modern deluge of data. Because you’re reading this, I’ll assume that we’re in agreement that statistics allows you to use data to understand reality. However, I’d also bet that you’re picturing important but “typical” statistical studies, such as studies where Six Sigma analysts determine which factors affect product quality. Or perhaps medical studies, like determining the effectiveness of flu shots.

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In this post, I’m going to push that further, much further. So far that it might even make you feel a bit uncomfortable. It’s not that I want you to feel discomfort, but I hope you can find new areas to apply statistical analyses. I’m talking about areas that are considered human specialties: intuition, experience, professional judgment, decision-making, and even creativity.

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Submitted by Rip Stauffer on Tue, 05/28/2013 - 10:24

Great article

There has been a lot of great research into these phenomena in recent years, and even a Nobel prize.

A couple of the best books I've read recently on the topic are Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman, and The Signal and the Noise, by Nate Silver. The Kahneman is a must-read, and something you'll probably read (at least sections of) more than once. It's really a deep dive into why statistical thinking is so difficult, even for statisticians. The Silver work is not quite as deep, but contains a lot of great examples as well. Some oldies but goodies on the subject include vos Savant's The Power of Logical Thinking, Gilovich's How We Know What Isn't So, and Paulos' Innumeracy and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper.

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