Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century ANNOTATION
...nature of statistical models, where they came from, how they are applied to scientific problems, and whether they are true descriptions of reality...
FROM THE PUBLISHER
At a summer tea party in Cambridge, England, a guest states that tea poured into milk tastes different from milk poured into tea. Her notion is shouted down by the scientific minds of the group. But one man, Ronald Fisher, proposes to scientifically test the hypothesis. There is no better person to conduct such an experiment, for Fisher is a pioneer in the field of statistics.
The Lady Tasting Tea spotlights not only Fisher's theories but also the revolutionary ideas of dozens of men and women which affect our modern everyday lives. Writing with verve and wit, David Salsburg traces breakthroughs ranging from the rise and fall of Karl Pearson's theories to the methods of quality control that rebuilt postwar Japan's economy, including a pivotal early study on the capacity of a small beer cask at the Guinness brewing factory. Brimming with intriguing tidbits and colorful characters, The Lady Tasting Tea salutes the spirit of those who dared to look at the world in a new way.
SYNOPSIS
In The Lady Tasting Tea, David Salsburg tells the fascinating story of how statistics has revolutionized science in the twentieth century. Leading the reader through a maze of randomness and probability, the author clearly explains the nature of statistical models, where they came from, how they are applied to scientific problems, and whether they are true descriptions of reality. Salsburg also discusses the flaws inherent in a statistical model and the serious problems they've created for scientists as we enter the twenty-first century.
FROM THE CRITICS
Bradley Efron
Statistics has been the stealth science of the 20th century, moving almost without public notice, nor the notice of most scientists for that matter, into a commanding methodological position in a score of important fields. Genetics, psychology, medicine, economics, rely on statistical methods when they want to speak quantitatively, and even "hard" sciences such as geophysics and astronomy have moved toward statistical modes of thinking. Salsburg's book is the story of statistical theory in the 20th century, its time of triumph, and of the mathematical/ scientific geniuses who made it happen. He writes with both experience and insight, and with a happy lack of technical barriers between the reader and his subject. Particularly well told is the story of Ronald Fisher, the double genius who founded both mathematical statistics and mathematical genetics. If scientists were judged by their influence on science then Fisher would rank with Einstein and Pauling at the top of the modern ladder. He is unknown to the general public, but perhaps Salsburg will help correct that injustice.
Alvan R. Feinstein
If you have ever been exposed to the statistical activities that permeate science, you will be fascinated by this book. In highly readable, well-written prose that avoids mathematical symbols and intricacies, the text describes all the pertinent ideas and developments of 20th century statistics, while offering charming vignettes (sometimes delicious gossip) about the personalities and peccadilloes of the leading characters. Get the book for your own educational pleasure, or give it to someone you want to delight.
Barbara A. Bailar
David Salsburg explores in a non-mathematical presentation the development of statistical methods over the past 200 years or so. Statistical thinking and applications permeate every important area of our lives--medicine, economics, industry, censuses, and insurance, to name a few. This book intricately weaves together the history of this development with short, pithy biographies of those who were major contributors. the result is a fascinating description of the kinds of people who interacted, collaborated, disagreed, and were brilliant in the development of statistics.
Publishers Weekly
The development of statistical modeling in primary research is the underreported paradigm shift in the foundation of science. The lady of the title's claim that she could detect a difference between milk-into-tea vs. tea-into-milk infusions sets up the social history of a theory that has changed the culture of science as thoroughly as relativity did (the lady's palate is analogous to quantum physics' famous cat-subject), making possible the construction of meaningful scientific experiments. Statistical modeling is the child of applied mathematics and the 19th-century scientific revolution. So Salsburg begins his history at the beginning (with field agronomists in the U.K. in the 1920s trying to test the usefulness of early artificial fertilizer) and creates an important, near-complete chapter in the social history of science. His modest style sometimes labors to keep the lid on the Wonderland of statistical reality, especially under the "This Book Contains No Equations!" marketing rule for trade science books. He does his best to make a lively story of mostly British scientists' lives and work under this stricture, right through chaos theory. The products of their advancements include more reliable pharmaceuticals, better beer, econometrics, quality control manufacturing, diagnostic tests and social policy. It is unfortunate that this introduction to new statistical descriptions of reality tries so hard to appease mathophobia. Someone should do hypothesis testing of the relationship between equations in texts and sales in popular science markets it would make a fine example of the use of statistics. Illus. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
This is an insightful and revealing history of how the emergence of statistics in scientific research revolutionized the sciences. Without using a single mathematical equation, Salsburg, a former Harvard professor and a prolific writer with three books and numerous articles on applied statistics, clearly discusses some major advances in statistics in the last century. He covers most of the major contributors to the field and dedicates two chapters to the contributions made by women. Salsburg also does an excellent job of showing how statistics has had an impact in the development of other sciences likes agriculture, cancer research, and econometrics as well as its influence in industry, where statistical methods are widely used in quality control and for the analysis of operational research. General readers with little mathematical background will be able to grasp Salsburg's lucid concepts with ease. Specialists will also enjoy reading this book for its interesting presentation and for the many biographical notations about some of the most influential researchers in the field. Since Salsburg focuses on the 20th century, readers interested in learning about earlier developments in statistics can look at Stephen M. Stigler's Statistics on the Table (LJ 10/1/99). Nestor L. Osorio, Northern Illinois Univ. Lib., DeKalb Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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AUTHOR DESCRIPTION
David Salsburg is a retired pharmaceutical company statistician and currently works as a private consultant. He has been a member of the American Statistics Association since 1964 and has taught at Harvard, Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut, the University of Pennsylvania, Rhode Island College, and Trinity College. During his latter years of teaching, Salsburg became Senior Research Fellow at Pfizer, Inc., in the Central Research Department.
ACCREDITATION
David Salsburg is a retired pharmaceutical company statistician and currently works as a private consultant.ﾽ He has been a member of the American Statistics Association since 1964 and has taught at Harvard, Connecticut College, the University of Connecticut, the University of Pennsylvania, Rhode Island College, and Trinity College.ﾽ During his latter years of teaching, Salsburg became Senior Research Fellow at Pfizer, Inc., in the Central Research Department.
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