The importance of statistics in the modern world

Statistics is a very important discipline nowadays considering how interconnected and databased
the world has been developing since the last part of the 20 th century. Despite its immense
importance for lots of other disciplines and research fields, its teaching is not always progressing
the way it should.

For example, even though many schools teach statistics, the focus they give to the course is
mathematically oriented, rather than encouraging analysis and interpretation skills based on the
statistical parameters applied. Moreover, that knowledge acquired might not be related to applied
statistics, which is the way traditional statistics merges with other subjects like biology, chemistry,
physics, demography, among others, and demonstrates its true value to real-world issues.

Many companies are seeking for workers with optimal data-analysis skills who can predict the
behavior of several phenomenon such as the stock market, experiment data, marketing, industrial
processes and demography indicators. Regarding its importance in the marketing area, it is
imperative to note that statistics allow the identification of market trends, also the measurement
and evaluation of the potential and success of marketing programs.

If schools and educational models ameliorate or modify how they teach this subject, the way
students think might change by enhancing their ability to solve problems, making decisions,
analyzing data and providing solutions based on that data. Thus, allowing them to play a crucial
role in modern society and perhaps contributing to the development of new study fields, research
and/or experiments.