Vital Statistics You Never Learned… Because They're Never Taught

KG: Starting from the beginning, what is statistics and how did it come about? Could you give us a short definition and history of the discipline? In a brief nutshell statistics began as a way to understand the workings of states, productivity, life expectancy, agricultural yields, etc., and to make estimates of things from samples (an statistical example of the latter dates back to the 5th century BCE in Athens). Concerning a definition for statistics, it is a field that is a science unto itself and that benefits all other fields and everyday life. What is unique about statistics is its proven tools for decision making in the face of uncertainty, understanding sources of variation and bias, and most importantly, statistical thinking.