Eric James A.

Abarro BS in Economics 2-2

July 01, 2013 General Statistics

Statistics As It Is Today
As I read the history of Statistics, I discovered that statistics based on history is somehow, for me, different from other discipline of Mathematics. Statistics is come from the new Latin word statisticum collegium which means council of States and the Italian word statista which means politician or statesman. During the 19th century, it was concerned on the collection, . It was then the term used for the collection of data of the state, so that the king/ruler can use these information for military, wealth, taxation and other governmental purposes. As I read the history, I found out that Gottfried Achenwall mentioned the word statistic at German University in 1749 which means that political science of different countries. In 1771, W. Hooper (Englishman) used the word statistics in his translation of Elements of Universal Erudition written by Baron B.F. Bieford, in his book satistics has been defined as the science that teaches us what is the political arrangement of all modern states of the known world. This gave me the notion that statistics during the old times was like a social science rather than a mathematical science. During the 18th century, the English writers have used the word statistics in their works, so statistics has developed gradually during last few centuries. A lot of work has been done in the end of the nineteenth century. An example of this is Francis Galton who used statistical methods in many ways and researches. He was the founder of correlation and regression to the mean and He later wrote the books Natural Inheritancewhich included a summary of the information he discovered regarding correlation and regression including the main concepts he found and techniques he discovered. Francis Galtons works significantly influenced the mathematician and statistician Karl Pearson who later produced the correlation coefficient. Works of Francis Galton has become essential in todays statistics and it is much safe to say that without then works of Francis Galton, todays statistic would not be the same as it is. As I research about statistics and its history, it gave me the conclusion is very different from other discipline of mathematics where it is originated from public administration. In the Philippines, the statistical system is decentralized to provide comprehensive statistical services. The statistical system has evolved through the years. During the Spanish regime, it centralized and the priests were required to do all the statistical works. The first census to be done in the Philippines was on 1897. It was centralized even in the American occupation and during the transition period of the commonwealth govt. I was only decentralized in 1987. It was done to response to the requirement of national development. Currently, the National Statistical Coordination Board is the highest policy-making and coordinating body on statistical matters in the Philippines.