The Politics of Large Numbers: A History of Statistical Reasoning

by Alain Desrosières

Statistics-driven thinking is ubiquitous in modern society. In this ambitious and sophisticated study of the history of statistics, which begins with probability theory in the seventeenth century, Alain Desrosières shows how the evolution of modern statistics has been inextricably bound up with the knowledge and power of governments. He traces the complex reciprocity between modern governments and the mathematical artifacts that both dictate the duties of the state and measure its successes.

No other work, in any language, covers such a broad spectrum--probability, mathematical statistics, psychology, economics, sociology, surveys, public health, medical statistics--in accurately synthesizing the history of statistics, with an emphasis on the conceptual development of social statistics, culminating in twentieth-century applied econometrics.

Genres: History, Science, Politics, Economics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Sociology

384 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

Reviews

[Yu Zhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not easy to review this book, because of its amazing depth, width and sophistication. Unlike many other history books on engineering merits of statistical models from famous mathematicians/statisticians, The Politics of Large Numbers speaks to the philosophical reasoning of statistics and talks about the historical context in which statistical reasonings gradually evolved into what we know today. It amazes me how much philosophical reasonings were given to the everyday statistics instruments like average, correlation, sampling and classification, beyond just the math formula defining these instruments. This book is a masterpiece historian tale of statistical reasoning that deserves data practitioners' attention. I will revisit this book in the future, because I will learn new things from reading it again and again. This book is not so easy to follow and understand through.

[Synaps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Statistics derive not just etymologically from the state: The expansion of quantitative measurement tools is intimately bound up with the emergence of modern power structures. To understand public policy today, we must dive back into how societies were constructed numerically.

[Martynas · Rating 4 out of 5]

very in depth. amazing perspective on statistics