The famous saying, in which statistics is one of 3 types of lies and follows “just lies” and “blatant lies”, is attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, who was the fortieth and forty-second (periods occurring in the 2nd half of the 19th century), the British Prime Minister . However, in our time, the authorship of Disraeli, advertised by Mark Twain, is denied. But be that as it may, this phrase many experts continue to repeat in their writings or public speeches, the main content of which are the methods of statistical analysis. As a rule, it sounds like a joke, in which there is only a fraction of the joke ...
Statistics is a branch of certain knowledge that describes the procedure for collecting, analyzing and interpreting large amounts of data, both qualitative and quantitative. It relates to various scientific or practical areas of life. For example, applied statistics help you choose the right statistical method for processing all kinds of data for analysis. Legal works in the field of offenses and control over them. Mathematical develops mathematical methods to systematize and use the information received for practical or scientific purposes. Demography describes the patterns of population reproduction. Query statistics are more relevant to linguists and the Internet.
The use of statistical methods dates back to at least the 5th century BC. One of the earliest records contains a book written in the 9th century AD. e. Arab philosopher, physician, mathematician and musician Al-Kindi. He gave a detailed description of how to use frequency analysis (histogram). New chronicles dating back to the 14th century and describing the history of Florence are considered one of the first positive works of statistics in history. They were compiled by the Florentine banker Giovanni Villani and include a lot of information about the population, government, commerce and trade, education and religious sites.
The early use of statistics is determined by the desire of the state to build a demographically and economically sound policy. Its range was expanded at the beginning of the 19th century and included the collection and analysis of data in general. Today, this field of knowledge is widely used by government agencies, business, natural and social sciences. Its mathematical foundations, the need for which arose from the study of gambling, were laid back in the 17th century with the development of probability theory by French mathematicians Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat. The least-squares statistical method was first described by Karl Friedrich Gauss around 1794.
The fast and steady growth of computing power, starting from the second half of the 20th century, had a significant impact on the development of applied statistics. The computer revolution has placed new emphasis on its experimental and empirical components. Now a large number of both general and special programs are available, with which you can easily use in practice any statistical method, whether it is control charts, histograms, correlation analysis, checklist, stratification method, Ishikawa scheme or Pareto analysis.
Today, statistics is one of the key tools for conducting an effective business and organizing production. It allows you to understand and measure the trends of variability, as a result, improve process management, as well as improve the quality of products and services. So, for example, managers who use statistical methods of quality control make, as a rule, informed decisions, thereby management works efficiently and brings the expected results. Therefore, statistics in this case is the key and perhaps the only reliable tool.
The ability to choose and correctly apply the statistical method allows you to get reliable conclusions and not mislead those who are provided with analysis data. Therefore, the frequent mention by experts of the old statement about 3 degrees of lies should be regarded as a warning against errors that can be misleading and form the basis of decisions with devastating consequences.