Timeline for Famous statistical quotations
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 2018 at 8:51 | comment | added | PM. | @NickCox +1 the quote with the 'wrong question' is preferable being much clearer and less debateable than the one with 'an approximate problem'. It can be incredibly valuable solving an approximate problem exactly ( in science at least. ) | |
| Apr 27, 2013 at 23:02 | comment | added | Nick Cox | "Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than an exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise." John W. Tukey 1962 The future of data analysis. Annals of Mathematical Statistics 33: 1-67 (see pp.13-14) No doubt he said similar things at other times, but that's a precise source, and the version I usually see quoted. | |
| Feb 5, 2011 at 13:09 | comment | added | probabilityislogic | This reminds me of a quote made by Edwin Jaynes. It roughly goes "...a mathematician came to me and said 'I found a brilliant solution, all I need now is the problem'..." | |
| Jul 28, 2010 at 6:55 | history | edited | Rob Hyndman | CC BY-SA 2.5 | added 1 characters in body |
| Jul 27, 2010 at 20:21 | comment | added | robin girard | @dassouki I think the quote is more about the question .... something like science is not about finding good answer but about finding good questions ! | |
| Jul 27, 2010 at 17:59 | comment | added | dassouki | I remember once where a private industry company commissioned a mathematician to solve a garbage collection routing problem. Long story short, the mathematician complained that the company was only interested in finding a "close enough" solution rather than an optimal solution. I think, ultimately he was fired, and an operations researcher was brought in instead. | |
| Jul 27, 2010 at 14:17 | comment | added | Shane | Absolutely...asking the right question is one of the most important skills. | |
| Jul 27, 2010 at 8:48 | comment | added | robin girard | I like this one, could be put as an advise when people write questions on this site ? | |
| Jul 27, 2010 at 8:42 | history | answered | John D. Cook | CC BY-SA 2.5 |