In this chapter
- How statistics turn data into insights, giving it further value and opportunity
- How statistics help software engineers, data scientists, and AI developers
- Recognizing the difficulties, misaligned incentives, and ethical concerns of statistics
Statistics describes and infers insights from data, often by analyzing a sample that represents a larger population or domain. Statistical analysis is a practical application of statistics that involves collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and quantifying numerical data (https://mng.bz/EwNd). Because statistics is a broad discipline that affects every role that involves working with data, this book covers techniques that should benefit anyone who wants to tease out truth and insight from data.
We can count on data, and the techniques we use to gain insight from it, never going away. The electronic connectivity of our everyday (and work) lives is only accelerating, even as we take it for granted. Therefore, knowledge of statistics will be timeless. Statistical proficiency and literacy have the following benefits: