A distractible astronomer learns some statistics
In this lecture, Professor Richard Arnold explains how statisticians think about the world, and why their thinking seems so different to everyone else.
Description
Richard Arnold began his scientific career as an astronomer, but 25 years ago blundered into the world of statistics, and hasn’t managed to find his way out again—the field being too full of fascinating problems seemingly touching on every branch of knowledge.
In this inaugural lecture, Professor Arnold from the School of Mathematics and Statistics discusses some of the statistical questions he works on, including seismology, clustering and reliability. He explains how statisticians think about the world, and why their thinking seems so different to everyone else. He comments on the growing presence and significance of statistics in the modern age, alongside the paradox of public distrust in evidence.
