# Definition of statistics

**URL:** <https://discourse.datamethods.org/t/definition-of-statistics/6191>\
**Category:** general\
**Created:** [November 8, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://discourse.datamethods.org/t/definition-of-statistics/6191 "2022-11-08T14:25:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![R\_cubed](https://discourse.datamethods.org/user_avatar/discourse.datamethods.org/r_cubed/32/1518_2.png) [@R\_cubed](https://discourse.datamethods.org/u/R_cubed)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://discourse.datamethods.org/t/definition-of-statistics/6191/2 "2022-11-08T15:11:03Z")

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I think Herman Chernoff and Lincoln Moses defined statistics perfectly on the first page of Chapter 1 of their book Elementary Decision Theory:

> Blockquote  
> …today’s statistician will say that statistics is concerned with decision making in the face of uncertainty.

> **[Elementary Decision Theory](https://books.google.com/books?id=U9yQVLHLgT4C&q=uncertainty&f=false)**
>
> Beginners will find this well-respected introduction to statistics and statistical theory a motivating introduction to important mathematical notions such as set, function, and convexity. Other topics include data processing, probability, and random...

Decision analysis is woefully neglected in basic stats. Why do we conduct research in medical science other than to make better decisions? It is much easier to test recall of the formula of the standard error than it is to discuss applications of stats to common problems. Even design of experiments can be expressed in decision theoretic terms.

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