“Statistics is not a branch of mathematics but is a technology which is essentially concerned with the contingent world of reality as distinguished from a world of abstraction” words by Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. The Government of India in 2006 decided to designate his birth anniversary as the ‘National Statistics Day' on 29th June and is being celebrated as such since 2007.
Now-a-days, the data grow faster than ever and information is increasing tremendously, the role of statistics becomes more crucial as the field of statistics is the science of learning from data. It is the need to recall a famous quote by Karl Pearson “Statistics is the grammar of Science” which is a strong evidence. Statistics is the need of hour and Pearson highlighted the importance of statistics and particularly emphasizes the significance of quantification for various fields of scientific study because statistics has the tendency to convert data into information. The decisions based on data and its information will provide better outcomes than those just based on intuition or gut feelings. In our daily life, there is almost no human activity where the application of statistics is not needed. The application of statistics plays a very significant role in almost every field such as Agriculture, Veterinary, medical sciences, physical sciences etc.
The role of statistics is very important as this science help us to i) present and compare the facts from data in a definite form for scientists, policy makers, and many others ii) formalize our thinking iii) study the current trends on the basis of sample survey. Sometimes the researchers use statistics for (i) Overgeneralization (ii) Biased samples (iii) Insufficient sample size which may mislead our results and conclusions.
In an era of increasingly voluminous and multifaceted data, the role of statistics in science continues to expand. Its fundamental principles remain as relevant today as they were in Mahalanobis and Pearson's time, guiding new generations of scientists in their quest for knowledge. As we move forward, the grammar of science will continue to evolve, adapting to new challenges and opportunities. Still, its core mission remains unchanged: to bring clarity, precision, and understanding to the complex data language. This reflection on statistics as the grammar of science reaffirms our commitment to pursuing truth, disseminating knowledge, and celebrating discoveries that enhance our understanding of the universe.
Statistics holds a central position in almost every field like industry, commerce, astronomy, information technology and many more. Statistics, as an interdisciplinary scientific field, plays a substantial role both for the theoretical and practical understanding of AI and for its future development. Statistics might even be considered a core element of Computer science like AI, Data science, programming, data structures, algorithms, system design, and narrative skills therefore statistics is a natural partner for other disciplines in teaching, research and practice. Statistics become an invariable asset of AI with advanced algorithms and models to better understand and adapt the data, this gives AI an invincible future. Statistical parameters like regression analysis, clustering techniques, algorithms, classifiers, and other tools drive AI to better results. So, AI and statistics are inseparable.
Statistics are the building blocks of AI. The statistical algorithms like KNN Regression, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Generalized Additive Models (GAM) are some of the powerful algorithms and even the statistical models like linear and logistic regression are designed with greater potential to help AI for understanding the data to make rightful predictions. It is clear from the supporting evidence that the computer science like AI, machine learning, data mining etc. are dependent on Statistics. The integration of statistical principles with AI technologies is likely to lead to further advancements and drive innovation in the related areas.
Statistics providing many career opportunities and challenges both in traditional fields and in new exciting areas but the integration of Statistics and computer science have an immense scope of becoming analysts, subject matter expert, expert in Actuarial and health sciences, corporate sector and even in government sector. There is no end to this list. It is expected that events like National Statistics Day, World Statistics Day etc. will raise public awareness especially among the younger generation about the importance of Statistics as a future perspective and a carrier builder.
(The authors working in SKUAST-Jammu)
(Inputs by Dr. Sunali Mahajan & Dr. Manish Kr. Sharma)
(The views expressed by the authors are their personal)
