|
|
|
A Brief Overview Of Statistics |
 |
 |
Statistics are all around us as it involves collecting and collating various forms of data and producing results. It is seen as something that should really be done by those with the mathematical mind as it is classified as being a branch of applied mathematics.
A statistician has to look at the data that has been collected and be able to analyze things that are likely to happen using a probability theory. They look at what has happened before and work out the chances of similar things happening again so in a way they give the odds of it happening to give it more of a betting reference.
You do actually hear of them on a regular basis as news reports shall tell you how a certain percentage of people have picked up an illness in an area or the murder rate per certain number of people in a particular city. This has all been done by someone looking at statistics and coming up with an end conclusion.
It is not all down to the mathematical ability but also how the figures are chosen and interpreted. Obviously if they are interpreted the wrong way then the end statistics are also going to be wrong so a statistician is often a very careful person and slowly goes over everything that they have looked at.
It does not have to be entirely boring as they can produce rather fun statistics but it is true that often people look at the work they have produced and wonder why they wasted their time. However, beyond the fun there is a real serious side to it all and this is not something that we really see too much of.
The only problem is that they are very easy to be manipulated. Politicians are perfect at taking parts of them and using them for their own purpose so for some things discretion really is key and do not always take them at face value even although someone somewhere has put in a lot of work producing them.
|
|
