Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics


Book Description

"There is nothing like it on the market...no others are as encyclopedic...the writing is exemplary: simple, direct, and competent." —George W. Cobb, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Statistics, Mount Holyoke College Written in a direct and clear manner, Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics: From Laplace to More Recent Times presents a comprehensive guide to the history of mathematical statistics and details the major results and crucial developments over a 200-year period. Presented in chronological order, the book features an account of the classical and modern works that are essential to understanding the applications of mathematical statistics. Divided into three parts, the book begins with extensive coverage of the probabilistic works of Laplace, who laid much of the foundations of later developments in statistical theory. Subsequently, the second part introduces 20th century statistical developments including work from Karl Pearson, Student, Fisher, and Neyman. Lastly, the author addresses post-Fisherian developments. Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics: From Laplace to More Recent Times also features: A detailed account of Galton's discovery of regression and correlation as well as the subsequent development of Karl Pearson's X2 and Student's t A comprehensive treatment of the permeating influence of Fisher in all aspects of modern statistics beginning with his work in 1912 Significant coverage of Neyman–Pearson theory, which includes a discussion of the differences to Fisher’s works Discussions on key historical developments as well as the various disagreements, contrasting information, and alternative theories in the history of modern mathematical statistics in an effort to provide a thorough historical treatment Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics: From Laplace to More Recent Times is an excellent reference for academicians with a mathematical background who are teaching or studying the history or philosophical controversies of mathematics and statistics. The book is also a useful guide for readers with a general interest in statistical inference.




Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics


Book Description

"There is nothing like it on the market...no others are as encyclopedic...the writing is exemplary: simple, direct, and competent." —George W. Cobb, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Statistics, Mount Holyoke College Written in a direct and clear manner, Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics: From Laplace to More Recent Times presents a comprehensive guide to the history of mathematical statistics and details the major results and crucial developments over a 200-year period. Presented in chronological order, the book features an account of the classical and modern works that are essential to understanding the applications of mathematical statistics. Divided into three parts, the book begins with extensive coverage of the probabilistic works of Laplace, who laid much of the foundations of later developments in statistical theory. Subsequently, the second part introduces 20th century statistical developments including work from Karl Pearson, Student, Fisher, and Neyman. Lastly, the author addresses post-Fisherian developments. Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics: From Laplace to More Recent Times also features: A detailed account of Galton's discovery of regression and correlation as well as the subsequent development of Karl Pearson's X2 and Student's t A comprehensive treatment of the permeating influence of Fisher in all aspects of modern statistics beginning with his work in 1912 Significant coverage of Neyman–Pearson theory, which includes a discussion of the differences to Fisher’s works Discussions on key historical developments as well as the various disagreements, contrasting information, and alternative theories in the history of modern mathematical statistics in an effort to provide a thorough historical treatment Classic Topics on the History of Modern Mathematical Statistics: From Laplace to More Recent Times is an excellent reference for academicians with a mathematical background who are teaching or studying the history or philosophical controversies of mathematics and statistics. The book is also a useful guide for readers with a general interest in statistical inference.




A History of Mathematical Statistics from 1750 to 1930


Book Description

The long-awaited second volume of Anders Hald's history of the development of mathematical statistics. Anders Hald's A History of Probability and Statistics and Their Applications before 1750 is already considered a classic by many mathematicians and historians. This new volume picks up where its predecessor left off, describing the contemporaneous development and interaction of four topics: direct probability theory and sampling distributions; inverse probability by Bayes and Laplace; the method of least squares and the central limit theorem; and selected topics in estimation theory after 1830. In this rich and detailed work, Hald carefully traces the history of parametric statistical inference, the development of the corresponding mathematical methods, and some typical applications. Not surprisingly, the ideas, concepts, methods, and results of Laplace, Gauss, and Fisher dominate his account. In particular, Hald analyzes the work and interactions of Laplace and Gauss and describes their contributions to modern theory. Hald also offers a great deal of new material on the history of the period and enhances our understanding of both the controversies and continuities that developed between the different schools. To enable readers to compare the contributions of various historical figures, Professor Hald has rewritten the original papers in a uniform modern terminology and notation, while leaving the ideas unchanged. Statisticians, probabilists, actuaries, mathematicians, historians of science, and advanced students will find absorbing reading in the author's insightful description of important problems and how they gradually moved toward solution.







A Brief History Of Mathematics For Curious Minds


Book Description

This book offers a short and accessible account of the history of mathematics, written for the intelligent layman to gain a better appreciation of its beauty, relevance, and place in history. It traces the development of the subject throughout the centuries, starting with the so-called Lebombo bone, the oldest known mathematical object that was estimated to be at least 43,000 years old, and ending with the 21st century.The presentation is informal, and no prior knowledge of mathematics is needed to enjoy the systematic chronological insights. A collection of appendices is included for more technical material — though still at the level of secondary school mathematics — and is concerned with the historically important proofs and concepts that can be explained in a simple way.




Mathematical Problems


Book Description

The life and soul of any science are its problems. This is particularly true of mathematics, which, not referring to any physical reality, consists only of its problems, their solutions, and, most excitingly, the challenges they pose. Mathematical problems come in many flavours, from simple puzzles to major open problems. The problems stimulate, the stories of their successful solutions inspire, and their applications are wide. The literature abounds with books dedicated to mathematical problems — collections of problems, hints on how to solve them, and even histories of the paths to the solutions of some famous ones. The present book, aimed at the proverbial “bright high-school student”, takes a different, more philosophical approach, first dividing mathematical problems into three broad classes — puzzles, exercises, and open problems — and discussing their various roles in one’s mathematical education. Various chapters are devoted to discussing examples of each type of problem, along with their solutions and some of the developments arising from them. For the truly dedicated reader, more involved material is offered in an appendix. Mathematics does not exist in a vacuum, whence the author peppers the material with frequent extra-mathematical cultural references. The mathematics itself is elementary, for the most part pre-calculus. The few references to the calculus use the integral notation which the reader need not truly be familiar with, opting to read the integral sign as strange notation for area or as operationally defined by the appropriate buttons on his or her graphing calculator. Nothing further is required. Advance praise for Mathematical Problems "There are many books on mathematical problems, but Smoryński’s compelling book offers something unique. Firstly, it includes a fruitful classification and analysis of the nature of mathematical problems. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, it leads the reader from clear and often amusing accounts of traditional problems to the serious mathematics that grew out of some of them." - John Baldwin, University of Illinois at Chicago "Smoryński manages to discuss the famous puzzles from the past and the new items in various modern theories with the same elegance and personality. He presents and solves puzzles and traditional topics with a laudable sense of humor. Readers of all ages and training will find the book a rich treasure chest." - Dirk van Dalen, Universiteit Utrecht




Probability Theory and Statistical Inference


Book Description

Doubt over the trustworthiness of published empirical results is not unwarranted and is often a result of statistical mis-specification: invalid probabilistic assumptions imposed on data. Now in its second edition, this bestselling textbook offers a comprehensive course in empirical research methods, teaching the probabilistic and statistical foundations that enable the specification and validation of statistical models, providing the basis for an informed implementation of statistical procedure to secure the trustworthiness of evidence. Each chapter has been thoroughly updated, accounting for developments in the field and the author's own research. The comprehensive scope of the textbook has been expanded by the addition of a new chapter on the Linear Regression and related statistical models. This new edition is now more accessible to students of disciplines beyond economics and includes more pedagogical features, with an increased number of examples as well as review questions and exercises at the end of each chapter.




All of Statistics


Book Description

Taken literally, the title "All of Statistics" is an exaggeration. But in spirit, the title is apt, as the book does cover a much broader range of topics than a typical introductory book on mathematical statistics. This book is for people who want to learn probability and statistics quickly. It is suitable for graduate or advanced undergraduate students in computer science, mathematics, statistics, and related disciplines. The book includes modern topics like non-parametric curve estimation, bootstrapping, and classification, topics that are usually relegated to follow-up courses. The reader is presumed to know calculus and a little linear algebra. No previous knowledge of probability and statistics is required. Statistics, data mining, and machine learning are all concerned with collecting and analysing data.




The Error of Truth


Book Description

Quantitative thinking is our inclination to view natural and everyday phenomena through a lens of measurable events, with forecasts, odds, predictions, and likelihood playing a dominant part. The Error of Truth recounts the astonishing and unexpected tale of how quantitative thinking came to be, and its rise to primacy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Additionally, it considers how seeing the world through a quantitative lens has shaped our perception of the world we live in, and explores the lives of the individuals behind its early establishment. This worldview was unlike anything humankind had before, and it came about because of a momentous human achievement: we had learned how to measure uncertainty. Probability as a science was conceptualised. As a result of probability theory, we now had correlations, reliable predictions, regressions, the bellshaped curve for studying social phenomena, and the psychometrics of educational testing. Significantly, these developments happened during a relatively short period in world history— roughly, the 130-year period from 1790 to 1920, from about the close of the Napoleonic era, through the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolutions, to the end of World War I. At which time, transportation had advanced rapidly, due to the invention of the steam engine, and literacy rates had increased exponentially. This brief period in time was ready for fresh intellectual activity, and it gave a kind of impetus for the probability inventions. Quantification is now everywhere in our daily lives, such as in the ubiquitous microchip in smartphones, cars, and appliances; in the Bayesian logic of artificial intelligence, as well as applications in business, engineering, medicine, economics, and elsewhere. Probability is the foundation of quantitative thinking. The Error of Truth tells its story— when, why, and how it happened.




Against All Odds


Book Description

This book presents an overview of the ways in which women have been able to conduct mathematical research since the 18th century, despite their general exclusion from the sciences. Grouped into four thematic sections, the authors concentrate on well-known figures like Sophie Germain and Grace Chisholm Young, as well as those who have remained unnoticed by historians so far. Among them are Stanisława Nidodym, the first female students at the universities in Prague at the turn of the 20th century, and the first female professors of mathematics in Denmark. Highlighting individual biographies, couples in science, the situation at specific European universities, and sociological factors influencing specific careers from the 18th century to the present, the authors trace female mathematicians’ status as it evolved from singular and anomalous to virtually commonplace. The book also offers insights into the various obstacles women faced when trying to enter perhaps the “most male” discipline of all, and how some of them continue to shape young girls’ self-perceptions and career choices today. Thus, it will benefit scholars and students in STEM disciplines, gender studies and the history of science; women in science, mathematics and at institutions, and those working in mathematics education.