Fisher, Neyman, and the Creation of Classical Statistics

by Erich L. Lehmann

Classical statistical theory―hypothesis testing, estimation, and the design of experiments and sample surveys―is mainly the creation of two   Ronald A. Fisher (1890-1962) and Jerzy Neyman (1894-1981).  Their contributions sometimes complemented each other, sometimes occurred in parallel, and, particularly at later stages, often were in strong opposition.  The two men would not be pleased to see their names linked in this way, since throughout most of their working lives they detested each other.  Nevertheless, they worked on the same problems, and through their combined efforts created a new discipline.

This new book by E.L. Lehmann, himself a student of Neyman’s, explores the relationship between Neyman and Fisher, as well as their interactions with other influential statisticians, and the statistical history they helped create together. Lehmann uses direct correspondence and original papers to recreate an historical account of the creation of the Neyman-Pearson Theory as well as Fisher’s dissent, and other important statistical theories.

Genres: Science, Mathematics

115 pages, Paperback

First published July 23, 2011

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a quick read that contained lots of interesting information on the history of classical statistics and the interactions between Fisher and Neyman, as well as other key plays (E. Pearson, K. Pearson, William Sealy Gosset, etc.). Many of the stories from the book helped me to understand part of why these two brilliant men disliked each other so much.

However, at times, I found the book a bit disorganized and I didn't always understand why certain stories were placed in certain chapters. Also, the author frequently used subheadings as a way to get around the complete lack of transitional sentences or paragraphs at the end of sections. Some of the jumps from Fisher to Neyman were very abrupt as a result. Also certain chapters and sections were simply quotes strung together with a sentence or two. While this can be expected in a historical work, it made it difficult to follow the point the author was trying to make. I reached the last chapter realizing I didn't completely get what Fisher and Neyman had in common and how they were different. Fortunately, the last chapter was a summation, but I would have liked more cohesion earlier in the book.

[Zad Rafi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A full review of the book can be found here

https://lesslikely.com/statistics/cla...

[Dylan Groves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would have appreciated more overview and background about the stats.