See also: Science | Mathematics | Poll
Dictionary.com: “The mathematics of the collection, organization, and interpretation of numerical data, especially the analysis of population characteristics by inference from sampling.”
The are many scientific experiments which involve statistical sampling:
Observed
Concerning human population, statistics is founded on the idea that the difference between the following is negligible:
- 10,000 people and asked them their opinion on any given issue
- 100 people (1%) from the same group, selected randomly, asked their opinion on any given issue.
Statistics almost always have an assumed error usually between + or – 1 to 3%. This innacuracy is based on the simple fact that statistics is an inexact science.
Quantifyable
In computers, statistics is much more precise, giving rational, empirical data. Statistics can be used to compare overall machine speed and market share of products, among others. Traffic Analysis of network connections can also produce useful and accurate statistics. These do not have the same assumed error.
Historically, statistical analysis of census data was an early motivator for the development of computer hardware.
Related Topics
TakeDown.NET -> “Statistics”