Subj : Re: Essay: Introduction to "Probability and Statistics" To : comp.programming,sci.math From : Duane Bozarth Date : Wed Jul 06 2005 11:35 am Gerry Quinn wrote: > > In article , rem642b@Yahoo.Com says... > > > Unlike most of mathematics, where we merely compute with numbers or > > plan how numbers might be computed or figure out patterns of numerical > > computations or set up abstract structures and analyze their > > characteristics, which requires nothing more than a strongly > > disciplined mind and a desire to understand complex but totally > > consistent systems, probability and statistics requires a special > > mindset, a special way of thinking about nature. (Albert Einstein is > > famous for not having this mindset. I hope you all know his famous > > quote regarding quantum mechanics and metaphorical "dice"?) > > For the record, that statement has absolutely *nothing* to do with > whether Einstein was good at thinking about probability and statistics > (whether he was or not, I don't know). It is an assertion about how > the universe is constructed, or perhaps an assertion about how a > universe can logically be constructed. Einstein was not disputing the > mathematics of coin tosses. > > - Gerry Quinn I also dispute the assertion that the fields of probability and statistics require any different "mindset"--the mathematics underlying theory is no less exact than other areas of application/theory. OP might be interested to read some of George Marsaglia's work or investigate resources available at NIST. .