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Statistics and truth. Putting chance to work. 2nd ed. (English) Zbl 0923.62001

Singapore: World Scientific. xvii, 192 p. £25.00 (1997).
This book is an introduction to statistical ideas accessible for a general reader who may be interested in scientific research, policy making in government or decision making in everyday life. The author dispels the doubts that chance is an expression of our ignorance which makes accurate predictions impossible. He illustrates how our thinking has changed with quantification of uncertainty by showing that chance is no longer the obstructor but a way of expressing our knowledge. It is highlighted how statistical ideas played a vital role in scientific and other investigations even before statistics was recognised as a separate discipline and how statistics is now evolving as a versatile, powerful and inevitable tool encompassing all fields of human endeavor, including literature, legal matters, archaeology and medicine. The topics discussed range from general philosophical issues, including the nature of creativity, to some selected technical matters.

MSC:

62-01 Introductory exposition (textbooks, tutorial papers, etc.) pertaining to statistics
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