Technometrics

ISSN: 0040-1706 (Print) 1537-2723 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/utch20

On the History of Statistics and Probability

J. E. J.

To cite this article: J. E. J. (1978) On the History of Statistics and Probability, Technometrics, 20:1,
106-106

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00401706.1978.10489630

Published online: 09 Apr 2012.

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 BOOK REVIEWS

A Mathematical Theory of Evidence, by Glenn Shafer, H. CHERNOFF, The interaction Between Large Sample Theory
Princeton University Press, 1976, 297 pp., $17.50, ($8.95 and Optimal Design of Experiments.
paperback). C. ANTONIAK and B. EFRON, Dealing with Many Problems
Simultaneously.
The objective of this book is to expand and develop further the
K. A. DOKSUM, Some Remarks on the Development of Non-
work of A. P. Dempster on upper and lower probabilities and the
parametric Methods and Robust Statistical Inference.
meaning of probability in general. The book is an interesting
D. R. BRILLINGER, Some History of the Data Analysis of Time
contribution to the philosophy of probability and Bayesian theory.
Series in the United States.
It attempts to clarify the meanings of probability, chance and R. H. TRAXLER, A Snag in the History of Factorial Experi-
inference and to develop one approach carefully. The writing is ments.
straightforward and expository, and the mathematics easy to fol- WEI-CHING CHANG, Statistical Theories and Sampling Prac-
low. tice.
James Inglis E. L. SCOTT, Statistics in Astronomy in the United States.
University OJ Rochester T. S. FERGUSON, Development of the Decision Model.
J. C. KIEFER and D. S. MOORE, Large Sample Comparison of
Tests and Empirical Bayes Procedures.
D. A. DARLING, The Birth, Growth, and Blossoming of Sequen-
tial Analysis.
SufficientStatistics: Selected Contributions, by Vasant S. P. S. PURI, Biomedical Applications of Stochastic Processes.
Hazurbazar, edited by Anant M. Kshirsagar, Marcel F. D. RIGBY, Pioneering in Federal Support of Statistics Re-
Dekker, Inc., 1976, xiii + 270 pp., $27.50. search.
H. 0. HARTLEY, The Impact of Computers on Statistics.
The book consists of three research monographs. Part 1, “ln-
Downloaded by [University of Rochester] at 17:57 07 August 2017

variance Theory of Prior Probabilities,” was written in 1959. Parts

J. E. J.
2 and 3, “The General Form of Distributions Admitting Sufficient
Statistics for Parameters in Nonregular Cases” and “Location and
Scale Parameters, and Sufficient Statistics,” were written in the
Management Science in Sports, R. E. Machol, S. P.
years 1962-64. The monographs may be of some historical interest
Ladany and D. G. Morrison, Editors, Elsevier/North
as references for those interested in the mathematical theory of
Holland, Inc., 1976, xiii + 164 pages, $17.25 (paperback).
sufficiency.
James fnglis
This is another of the North Holland/TlMS Studies in the
University of Rochester
Management Sciences (Vol. 4) and is a companion book to Opri-
ala/ Srraregies in Sports edited by Ladany and Macho1 and re-
viewed in the November 1977 issue of TECHNOMETRICS. The
current volume under review is the more theoretical of the two
although it does include many practical examples.

On the History of Statistics and Probability, D. B. Owen,

Editor, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1976, xiv + 466 pages,
$29.50. R. E. TRUEMAN, A computer simulation model of baseball:
With particular application to strategy analysis.
This is not a formal history of statistics and probability but R. T. CAMPBELL and DER-SAN CHEN, A minimum distance
rather a collection of papers given at a Symposium on the Ameri- basketball scheduling problem.
can Mathematical Heritage held at Southern Methodist University R. J. LEAKE, A method for ranking teams: With an application of
in 1974. As can be seen from the contents given below, the list of college football.
contributors is impressive. As Owen states in the preface, statisti- G. W. IRVING and H. A. SMITH, A model of a football field
cians have not paid much attention to the history of their profes- goal kicker.
sion. Someday we shall have a comprehensive history to enjoy; this I. GREENBERG, Handicapping professional football.
volume is not it, nor was it intended to be, but until that day B. ROSNER, An analysis of professional football scores.
comes, it should provide us with some entertaining reading and B. PRICE and A. G. RAO, Alternative rules for drafting in profes-
will provide the writer of that ultimate history with some source sional sports.
material. R. L. HEILMANN and W. R. WENDLING, A note on optimum
pricing strategies for sports events.
Contenis G. L. LILIEN, Optimal weightlifting.
W. G. COCHRAN, Early Development of Techniques in Com- G. P. SPHICAS and S. P. LADANY, Dynamic policies in the long
parative Experimentation. jump.
0. KEMPTHORNE, The Analysis of Variance and Factorial De- E. L. HANNAN, An analysis of different serving strategies in
sign. tennis.
P. W. M. JOHN, Industrial Experimentation (1955-1965). D. G. MORRISON, On the optimal time to pull the goalie; A
M. H. HANSEN and W. G. MADOW, Some Important Events in Poisson model applied to a common strategy used in ice
the Historical Development of Sample Surveys. hockey.
N. MANTEL, A Personal Perspective on Statistical Techniques J. B. SIDNEY and S. J. SIDNEY, Intransitivity in the scoring of
for Quasi-Experiments. cross-country competitions.
B. HARSHBARGER, History of the Early Developments of I. A. USHAKOV, The problem of choosing the preferred element:
Modern Statistics in America (1920-1944). An application to sport games.
J. NEYMAN, The Emergency of Mathematical Statistics: A His- R. C. BARQUIN, The use of computers in generating initial
torical Sketch with Particular Reference to the United States. orders of competition.
J. L. DOOB, Foundations of Probability Theory and its Influence
on the Theory of Statistics. J. E. J.

TECHNOMETRICS@, VOL. 20, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 1978